The Grand Traverse County Sheriff's Office and local DNR officials are working to track down the person who drove a four-wheel drive vehicle on the Vasa Pathway late Monday afternoon, causing extensive damage to groomed trails for cross-country skiing.

According to head groomer Jim Dombrowski, a 4WD vehicle traveled on the Vasa Pathway from the trailhead off of Bartlett Road and traversed various parts of the trail, adding that one area was "very torn up" with ruts 6 to 9 inches deep in many spots -- creating potentially hazardous conditions for skiers.

"TART groomers have spent dozens of hours to get the trail in as great of shape as it is, especially with such limited snow," says Julie Clark, executive director of TART Trails, which manages the Pathway. "It's sad that one act of senseless destruction can potentially ruin weeks of hard work."

While Dombrowski worked late into the night to repair the worst of the damage, he says some parts of the trail may still require shoveling snow from the side of the trail to fill in low spots, which will then require substantial new snow, cold temperatures and additional grooming before the trail becomes level again.