Tributes have been paid to a "gentle and caring" headmaster who died after he fell through a frozen loch during a day out with his family.

The body of Alan McKenzie, 48, was recovered yesterday following Monday's tragedy on Dow Loch in Kinross-shire when the ice gave way.

A police diving team discovered the body at 5.25pm after a three-day search.

He was enjoying a sledging trip to a remote hillside with his daughters Sylvie, Mollie and wife Christina. Mr McKenzie, the headmaster of the 150-pupil Errol Primary School, had been walking on the ice-covered loch with his family when he fell through. He shouted at his family to leave the ice for their own safety and not to help him.

Councillor Bob Band, education convenor of his employers Perth and Kinross Council, said: "We are all deeply shocked to learn of the accident this week.

"Our thoughts, and I am sure those of staff, pupils and parents are with Alan's family, friends and colleagues at this very difficult time.

"We know Alan to be a gentle, caring man and a very enthusiastic and deeply committed educator, with expertise in and a passion for the early years."

Mr McKenzie managed to grab hold of the ice while Sylvie, 14, phoned for help. He shouted at his family to get off the ice to ensure they were safe.

The family threw a string of coats tied together to try to reach him. He clung on but succumbed to the cold and slipped under the surface. By the time emergency services arrived at the scene, he had disappeared.

One of his neighbours at East Brackley, near Loch Leven, Kinross-shire, told of their distress at the tragedy.

The woman, who did not wish to be named, said: "We were all completely shocked when we heard.

"We are a very close little community here, so the news has hit us all hard. He was always very friendly, would wave to me every day on his way to work, and they were such a sweet little family. It's just terrible – so, so sad."

Another neighbour added: "They were very private people. It is terrible that such a thing happened to such a lovely family."

Mr McKenzie's career in Perth and Kinross schools began in 1989. He spent some time in Fife, before returning to the local area as headmaster of Errol Primary in August 2004.

A family friend, Helen Murray, wrote on Facebook: "RIP Alan, my lovely neighbour from Scotland who fell through a frozen lake and spent 20 desperate minutes clinging to the ice while his two daughters and wife could do nothing.

"My heart goes out to little Mollie and Sylvie and the rest of his family for this devastating news."

Mr McKenzie's home is a short drive from Dow Loch, which lies in the shadow of Nivingston Hill, by Cleish, three miles south-west of Kinross.

Rab Middlemiss, of Tayside Fire and Rescue, said: "It is just so devastating that what started as a family day out turned into a tragic accident."

Sergeant Ian Shepherd, of Police Scotland's Tayside division – who led the recovery operation – said Mrs McKenzie, Sylvie and eight-year-old Mollie were distraught.

He added: "We are liaising with them constantly and have support systems in place. They are obviously distraught. They were on a happy family day out in an area they knew well."

A police spokesman said: "Officers from a Police Scotland dive team recovered the body of a male from Loch Dow. This follows intense activity over the past three days from police, Scottish Fire Service and Scottish Ambulance Service in their search for a missing male.

"The identity of the deceased will not be released until a formal identification has taken place and next of kin are aware.

"As in all cases of sudden deaths in the open, a report will be submitted to the procurator-fiscal."