Officials: Bodies of Loch Sheldrake couple recovered from pond

Police say the daughter told them that her parents may have gone ice fishing on Monday afternoon. Nearby lakes and ponds in the area were searched.

Lee Danuff

Mar 1, 2023, 2:08 AM

Updated 557 days ago

Share:

The Sullivan County Sheriff's Office says two bodies were found in a pond on Tuesday.
Officials say that they were alerted by a New York City woman on Monday that her parents were missing.  A search ensued after police officers from the Town of Fallsburg could not find them at their home at Foxcroft Village in Loch Sheldrake.
Police say the daughter told them that her parents may have gone ice fishing on Monday afternoon. Nearby lakes and ponds in the area were searched.
The couple’s car was located just after 2:30 a.m. near a pond between Loch Sheldrake and Woodbourne.
Officials say that thin ice prevented the Loch Sheldrake Fire Department from venturing out on the pond, but a drone spotted an area of open water. 
New York State Police divers responded and found the submerged bodies of the couple in about 10 feet of water, located about 100 feet from the shore.
The victims have been identified as 63-year-old Viktor Nikitin and 70-year-old Svetlana Nikitin.