Cloquet woman found dead after snowmobile apparently broke through ice, companion still missing

One Cloquet resident is dead and another is missing after their snowmobile apparently broke through the ice.

The St. Louis County Volunteer rescue squad found Debbie Senarighi, 60, on Monday, Dec. 24 in the water and deceased on White Iron Lake, southeast of Ely. Her companion, Kenneth Wildenauer, age 60, is still missing.

According to the press release from the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Department, it appears the couple’s snowmobile broke through thin ice as they neared Beargrease Island

The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Department said Wildenauer was reported missing Monday, Dec. 24, after he didn’t show up for work in Cloquet. First responders located Wildenauer and Senarighi’s vehicles at Wildenauer’s cabins in Babbit. A snowmobile belonging to Wildenauer was also missing.

Wildenauer and Senarighi were last seen together at Tanks bar in Babbit last Friday evening, Dec. 21, and the last known cell phone location was Saturday afternoon southeast of Ely.

As of noon Christmas Day, rescuers were still actively searching the area in attempts to locate Wildenauer.