12/27/22:
The missing men have been located deceased and have been identified as Narayana Muddana, 49 and Gokul Mediseti, 47. The female victim has been identified as Haritha Muddana (age unknown). The three victims resided in Chandler, AZ and are originally from India.
The Sheriff’s Office thanks the additional units who responded to the area, Forest Lakes Fire District, Gila County Sheriff’s Office Dive Units with cold water gear, the Department of Public Safety Air Rescue with a cold-water diver, Tonto Rim Search and Rescue, and Coconino County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue.
12/26/2022
From CCSO: AT 3:35 pm hours, Coconino County Deputies from the Forest Lakes Substation responded to Woods Canyon Lake for the report of 3 individuals, two males and one female who were walking on the frozen lake and fell through the ice.
Responding Deputies and Fire units were able to pull the female from the water and administer life-saving measures but were unsuccessful. The search continues for the 2 male individuals.
Deputies were able to acquire a boat from the boat rental at the lake and conduct an expanded search of the area. Additional units responding to the area are Gila County Sheriff’s Office Dive Units with cold water gear, Department of Public Safety Air Rescue with a cold-water diver, Coconino County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue with boats and cold water search gear.
At this time units have confirmed 1 fatality and are searching for the other two missing individuals. No other information is available at this time.
Coconino County Sheriff’s Office, State Troopers, and several other agencies are responding to Woods Canyon Lake in Coconino County for a serious accident on the water. Dive teams and cold water rescue teams have been called to the scene. As of 3:45 pm, at least one person is deceased, 2 others unaccounted for, and one person is on the shoreline. This is a developing situation and is outside of the area we typically cover. Due to the nature and severity, we have chosen to post details here. Update 4:13 pm One person is deceased. 2 more people are still missing. Update 5:13 pm: CCSO has confirmed all of the details we provided above. The group was attempting to walk on the ice when they fell through.