BRACEBRIDGE, Ont. - A happy family reunion in central Ontario's picturesque cottage country was marred by tragedy Sunday, as two bodies were pulled from a Muskoka lake and a distraught man tried to come to grips with how he helplessly watched his wife and 12-year-old daughter slip into the frigid waters.

Police divers recovered the bodies of Carolyn Bray, 46, and Joeline Robinson, 12, from Lake Rosseau in Muskoka Lakes Township, about a two and a half-hour drive north of Toronto.

On Saturday, Tony Robinson was riding a utility vehicle across the lake's frozen surface, following behind his wife, their daughter, the girl's 11-year-old cousin and a family dog, who were in a Kawasaki Mule, which resembles a large golf cart.

Their vehicle hit a pressure crack in the ice and submerged.

The 11-year-old girl, who wasn't wearing a seatbelt, and the dog managed to escape. But Bray and her daughter were belted into the front seat of the vehicle and couldn't free themselves in time.

Tony Robinson attempted to save his wife and child but his efforts were in vain.

"Tony jumped in and tried to get them, but he couldn't," the man's father, Harold Robinson, said in an interview Sunday.

Members of the Robinson family had been gathering for a family reunion in Windermere, a tiny village with about 200 full-time residents, including the elder Robinson and his son.

"We were just getting together at that time for the weekend," said Harold Robinson.

"They were just out for a ride."

Investigators blamed the accident on unpredictable ice conditions, something that's been particularly problematic this year because of dramatic freeze and thaw cycles, said provincial police Sgt. Mike Tennent.

Some days, temperatures reach 10 C but dip to -20 C overnight.

"With those type of conditions, large pressure cracks certainly makes the ice unpredictable," Tennent said.

Harold Robinson said his son, a contractor, knows the lake quite well because he's been doing work at various properties in the area for more than 20 years.

The lake is usually "quite safe," he said, noting that the ice is approximately half-a-metre thick in most places.

"We're all very shook up about it. We can't really fathom the reason for it and nobody ever will. It was a freak accident," he said.

Bray is also survived by a teenage daughter, who was on vacation in Florida at the time of the accident, he said.

Bray's younger daughter, Joeline, was enrolled in French immersion in the nearby community of Bracebridge, although this week is the week-long March break, he said.

"She was a cute little girl, a beautiful little girl," Robinson said of his granddaughter.

"She was a very bright little girl, exceptionally, I would say."

Area residents say Bray was well known around Muskoka Lakes, a township with only 6,500 year-round residents that swells to a population of 40,000 in the summer months.

Bray was the executive director of the Muskoka chapter of the YWCA, a national charity that works for the development and improved status of women and girls.

Colleagues described Bray as an "extremely energetic and happy" person with an infectious laugh. But she also had a serious side, choosing to tackle issues like health promotion and economic development, said Virginia Hastings, board president for the YWCA Muskoka.

"It's totally devastating. It's a huge loss to a lot of people in the community," said Hastings.

Her brother-in-law, Mike Robinson, said Bray was a fascinating person who worked for causes she believed in.

"You could love her, you could hate her, but I guarantee you, you wanted to know her and you wanted to love her," he said.

"She stood for so much. She believed in equality of women, she believed in the community, doing community things and growing together. She's been living and breathing this for so many years."

Muskoka Mayor Susan Pryke credited Bray with creating Women of Distinction, a YWCA program to honour the accomplishments of local women.

"I would say she's a woman of distinction. She will be missed," Pryke said.