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Missing snowmobiler found dead in southeast Adirondacks

HADLEY — A snowmobiler who was the subject of a search in the Hadley area when he was reported missing Tuesday night was found dead Wednesday morning not far from his home, police said.

Authorities said Jon A. Brockway, 50, of Old Corinth Road, Hadley, died from a rollover snowmobile accident on a trail sometime Tuesday. A state forest ranger who was part of a search detail located him with his snowmobile late Wednesday morning.

Hadley is across the Hudson River from Lake Luzerne in the southeast Adirondack Park.

It has been a deadly year on snowmobile trails in the Adirondacks, with at least 20 fatalities reported so far this winter. Ridership was way up over past years thanks to heavy snow cover that was in place from late January through this week.

State Police Investigator Jim West said an autopsy was to be performed, but police believe the accident occurred at low speeds and there was no foul play involved. They did not release the location where it occurred, saying only that it was a short distance from Brockway’s home.

Brockway was reported missing Tuesday night by his wife, after he didn’t return from a ride that began around 2 p.m. The search began Tuesday night, and continued into Wednesday morning.

State Police Sgt. James Conway said that Brockway left on a green 2003 Arctic Cat, to ride the trails in the Hadley area, as there is an extensive trail network around Dean Mountain, west of his home. It was not known exactly where he was headed, however, Conway said.

Officials said he was an experienced snowmobiler.

A State Police helicopter was called in to search from the air early Wednesday, and officers from a number of agencies were searching the region’s trail systems with snowmobiles.

West said state forest rangers, conservation officers and State Police snowmobile patrols were involved in the search, operating from a command post that was set up at the Luzerne-Hadley Fire Station.

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