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A man died while trying to retrieve his 11-year-old son's drone which malfunctioned and crashed onto a frozen lake in Illinois. 

Mark A. Miller was having a day out with his young son near Low Water Dam on Chouteau Island in Madison on Sunday. 

When the drone malfunctioned and crashed on the ice, Mr Miller ordered his son back to the car and started the engine before returning to the frozen lake to retrieve the drone.

 

 

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Mark A Miller died after he tried to retrieve his son's drone which crashed onto a frozen lake, file photograph

 

 

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Mr Miller died after plunging into the icy water at Chouteau Island near his home in Granite City, Illinois 

Unfortunately, after Mr Miller, who is divorced from his son's mother, got about 100 meters across the ice, the surface gave way and he was unable to clamber back onto the surface to safety.

After about three hours, when Mr Miller's car ran out of fuel, his son went looking for help and a passing motorist stopped and brought him to the local sheriff's office.

According to CBS, a helicopter from nearby St Louis was able to find the hole in the ice and a specialist team of divers recovered Mr Miller's body from under the ice several hours later. 

Authorities said: 'The young boy did not witness his father fall into the ice. He is now with his mother who does not live in the area; the parents are divorced. The son was with his father on a scheduled visitation.'

A post mortem found that Mr Miller died of drowning although the corner is still awaiting toxicology results to determine whether he had any alcohol or drugs in his system.