Beloit man dies after snowmobile plunges into Lake Koshkonong

TOWN OF MILTON—A Beloit man is dead after his snowmobile went
 into open water early Sunday on Lake Koshkonong.

According to a news release from the Rock County Sheriff’s Department,
officers in an airboat found Willie A. Guzman, 47, of Beloit, in the water and
unresponsive about 400 yards offshore at Lakeview Drive in the town of Milton.

The sheriff’s office said Guzman’s snowmobile had apparently plunged into
open water in an area on the lake’s south end where it narrows and flows
into the Rock River.

Emergency crews found Guzman at about 3:40 a.m. Sunday morning,
over two hours after his snowmobile went in the water, according to reports.
He was taken to Mercy Hospital and Trauma Center, where he was later
pronounced dead, according to reports.

Lakeshore residents apparently had reported the accident shortly after
1 a.m. Sunday, after they heard someone yelling for help.

Guzman’s riding partner, Lewis Masterson, 46, of Beloit, whose snowmobile
also had plunged into the lake, later came into the Countryside Inn, which
 is along Highway 59 south of the lake.

Masterson told authorities that he and Guzman were riding across the lake
on their snowmobiles when they got disoriented because of the dark and a
 fog that had fallen over the lake.

Masterson said he’d plunged into the water but was able to walk to shore.
He said he couldn’t find Guzman. It's not clear whether Masterson was injured
in the accident.

Authorities don’t believe alcohol played a role in the accident.