LOCH SHELDRAKE – The bodies of 63-year-old Viktor Nikitin and his 70-year-old wife Svetlana Nikitin were recovered in a pond on Hutrat Road between Loch Sheldrake and Woodbourne on Tuesday afternoon. The two had not been heard from since Monday, February 27, 2023.
On Monday evening, the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) received a call at 8:15 p.m. from an individual in New York City who asked that a welfare check be performed on her parents, Viktor and Svetlana. The Fallsburg police, assisting the SCSO, responded to the Nikitin residence at Foxcroft Village in Loch Sheldrake but no one was in the residence. The daughter advised police that her parents possibly went ice fishing around 1:00 p.m. on Monday.
An extensive search of the local area ensued, with law enforcement checking numerous ponds and lakes in the area during the snowstorm. At 2:40 a.m. on Tuesday, an SCSO deputy located the couple’s vehicle near the pond where their bodies were recovered. Deputies were able to see ice fishing gear out on the pond but there was no sign of Mr. or Mrs. Nikitin.
The Loch Sheldrake Fire Department responded to the pond but firefighters were unable to reach the fishing gear due to the thin ice.
At daybreak on Tuesday, SCSO deputies used a drone to inspect the pond. During the inspection, an area of open water was spotted near the ice fishing poles. Divers from the New York State Police responded and recovered the bodies in 10 feet of water, approximately 100 feet from the shore.
The husband and wife were pronounced dead at the scene by the Sullivan County Coroner. The actual cause of the deaths will be determined by autopsy.
Sullivan County Sheriff Mike Schiff, speaking of the tragedy said “The cooperative effort of all agencies brought this tragic event to a timely conclusion despite the extreme weather conditions.” The sheriff also issued a reminder, saying “We have had a stretch of warm weather and the ice on our lakes and ponds is not thick,” adding “Use extreme caution and always let someone know where you are going.”
