GRANT (WWJ) -- The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is urging extreme caution on and around ice after a 21-year-old Newaygo County man and a conservation officer fell through a lake surface Sunday, resulting in hypothermia.
On January 8, around 3:30 p.m., a team of Michigan DNR conservation officers responded to Blanch Lake -- located along M-37 in Newaygo County.
A 911 caller told dispatchers that a man walking on the ice had fallen through into the lake 50 to 75 yards from the shorline, where the water ranges from 15- to 20-feet deep.
Wearing a life preserver, Conservation Officer Jeff Ginn crawled across the ice to the open water. The 21-year-old man was clinging to the edge of the broken ice. He showed signs of hypothermia and was unable to swim.
“When I was about 10 feet from the man, I threw him a personal floatation device and a rescue rope,” Ginn said. “He was unable to hold the PFD because he was holding onto the ice shelf.”
The officers attempted several ice rescue methods, including tossing the man a throw rope and ice picks. Each attempt failed, as the young man was too weak to stay afloat without keeping his grip on the ice.
Ginn was using an off-road vehicle ramp for weight distribution, but as he pushed a set of ice picks closer to the man, the ice broke beneath him, and he sunk into the water.
Grabbing ahold of both the man and the personal floatation device from an earlier rescue attempt, Ginn swam them to the ice shelf and worked to secure the ice spikes and rope.
Conservation Officer Tim Barboza made his way out to the pair on hands and knees to tie additional ropes to the original line in order to pull Ginn and the man from the icy water. The fragile surface continued to break underneath them, though.
Ginn was eventually pulled from the lake but was forced to jump back in to keep the hypothermic 21-year-old from sinking.
“I knew we were going to be in the water for a while, and kept talking to the man to keep him alert,” Ginn said. “I knew if I let go, he’d sink.”
By this time, emergency responders from the Newaygo Fire Department had joined the rescue mission. Dressed in cold-water survival suits, they used an inflatable raft to reach the man and pull him from the lake.
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Ginn was able to climb out on his own, and the rescue crew pulled him across the remaining ice to safety.
The 21-year-old was taken to a Grand Rapids hospital to be treated for hypothermia. Officials believe he was in the water for more than half an hour. His body temperature had dropped to 87 degrees Fahrenheit.
Conservation Officer Ginn was submerged for around 20 minutes and reached a body temperature of 89 degrees Fahrenheit before he was taken to a local hospital.
Both men successfully recovered and were released.
“The department is beyond grateful that one of our conservation officers and a young man are both doing well after spending an extended amount of time in the cold water,” said Chief Dave Shaw, DNR Law Enforcement Division.
Probationary Conservation Officer Brandon Benedict was also present for the rescue mission. Assistance was provided by the Ashland-Grant Fire Department, Life EMS, the Newaygo County dive team and Newaygo County Central Dispatch.
Sunday's incident has the Michigan DNR calling for renewed caution on and around ice along with proper ice safety awareness before participating in popular winter activities like snowmobiling, ice skating and ice fishing.
According to Chief Shaw, the unseasonably warm winter has made ice thinner and less stable than in past years. Best practices include using excess caution near ice, wearing a life preserver and carrying ice picks.
"There is no such thing as safe ice,” Shaw said.
If you see someone fall through ice, immediately call 911. Ice safety tips can be found here.
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