CASEVILLE TWP., Mich. (WWJ) – Two Huron County men had to be rescued while ice fishing over the weekend.
The Huron County Sheriff’s Office says 21-year-old Jeffrey Stone Jr. and 32-year-old Travis Bender, both of Harbor Beach, were fishing out on the ice of a lake easement on Saturday, when they became surrounded by open waters.
Authorities responded in an airboat to the area on Bay Drive in Caseville Township around 2:30 p.m.
The two men were more than a half mile offshore when they called for help, according to the sheriff’s office.
The airboat, crewed by a sheriff’s deputy and two Caseville firemen were able to get the men off of what authorities called “extremely unsafe ice” with no further incidents.
A collapsible fishing shanty was left out on the ice due to room constraints aboard the airboat, according to the sheriff’s office.
The sheriff's office has released video of the airboat leaving the shore. The fishermen can be seen on the ice in the distance.
NOTE: Watch below in full-screen mode to see the full video.
The sheriff’s office says the men had stepped over cracks in the ice on their way out to fish, not realizing there was a possibility for the ice to split apart as much as it did.
Once both men were brought to the shore, they were checked out and released by medical personnel.
The sheriff’s office says this was the second ice incident in the last week on the Huron/Tuscola side of Saginaw Bay that the airboat responded to.
“Although I’ve personally heard from anglers reporting up to 8 inches of ice on different parts of our county’s water, fishermen need to realize the possible hidden dangers that come with ice fishing, especially when the ice is able to move and cracks are apparent,” Huron County Sheriff Kelly Hanson said.
A similar incident played out near Green Bay, Wisc., earlier this month when dozens of fishermen had to be rescued.
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