Lake snowmobile victims showed high alcohol levels

BAYFIELD, Wis. — The two snowmobilers who were found dead on Lake Superior near Madeline Island on Feb. 20 were both extremely intoxicated, according to a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources investigation.

Joshua Reynolds, 30, and Mark J. Backes, 38, both of La Pointe, were found dead the morning after they were reported missing. Their snowmobile broke through the ice of the lake.

Reynolds had a blood-alcohol level of .286 and Backes’ level was .260, according to the WDNR’s fatality summary for the 2012-’13 winter season.

In Wisconsin, with a blood-alcohol content reading of .08, a drive...