Missing Greenville man’s body found in Moosehead Lake

GREENVILLE — Game wardens are investigating the death of a Greenville man found dead on Wednesday morning in Moosehead Lake. The body of Matthew Dubien, 46, was found in open water near Harfords Point. Dubien had been missing since 11 p.m. the night before (March 6) after leaving a local restaurant on his 1995 Polaris Indy 500 snowmobile. Game wardens were notified the next morning by Dubien’s family when they realized he had not made it home. An intensive search began using snowmobiles and a warden service aircraft.

At around 9 a.m. on March 7 game wardens searched the west shore of Moosehead Lake, an area known to have open water near Harfords Point. A game warden first discovered Dubien’s snowmobile helmet and soon found the body of Dubien nearby in open water. Game wardens recovered Dubien’s body with a Maine Warden Service airboat later in the morning. The investigation continues to help determine contributing factors that may have played a role in this incident.

Many of Maine’s lakes, including Moosehead Lake, now have several open areas of water that just a few weeks ago, were covered in ice. Anyone accessing Maine’s waterways must be certain of ice conditions, especially at night. In addition, many lakes have formed pressure ridges. With the recent warm temperatures, open water areas have become larger and more prevalent and will likely worsen with the anticipated heavy snowfall.

This latest incident is Maine’s sixth snowmobiling related fatality this season.