NORCROSS – Powerful winds forced the postponement Wednesday of a search for a Connecticut man missing since he went snowmobiling on North Twin Lake on Monday night.

Edward Tessman, 42, of New Haven, Conn., left his family’s camp by himself at about 9:45 p.m. on his snowmobile and hasn’t been seen since. His family reported him missing about two hours later, Maine Warden Service officials said.

Wardens, including dive team members, began searching the water for Tessman on Tuesday and found his snowmobile in about 40 feet of water that afternoon. Fresh tracks leading from the camp continued for almost a mile over lake ice before they abruptly ended at open water.

Wardens and dive team members were poised to begin the search Wednesday when they saw that the winds were making the water too rough for safety, said Capt. Joel Wilkinson, acting commanding officer of the Maine Warden Service.

“The airboat and other boats were deployed to the site, and divers were in gear ready to go in,” Wilkinson said in a statement. “But the harsh weather was taking its toll on the equipment, freezing lines on tanks and making them inoperable.”

Norcross is a sparsely populated area off Route 11 near Quakish and Elbow lakes about three miles west of Millinocket. The Golden Road and a railroad freight line run nearby.

Since early last month, wardens have been pleading with snowmobilers to be aware of changing surface conditions as temperatures rise and ice melts, often rapidly. Areas that might appear to be solid could be undermined by welling water and rapid currents.

Some power companies are drawing down lakes to accommodate the spring runoff, which leaves behind open water and open shores.

Ten snowmobiling fatalities have been reported so far this season. As many as 90,000 people ride snowmobiles in Maine during the season.

The Norcross search is due to resume after daybreak today.

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