NEWAYGO COUNTY, Mich. — A 21-year-old Grant man and a conservation officer with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) were treated for hypothermia after an ice rescue in Newaygo County on Sunday.
We’re told members of the DNR arrived at Blanch Lake following reports of a man who had walked onto the ice and fell through.
The DNR says the lake reaches a maximum depth of 20 feet.
A conservation officer crawled over the ice toward the breach, which was located 50 to 75 yards from the lakeshore, officials explain. The officer reportedly wore a floatation device.
The man who had fallen through was clinging to the inch-thick ice shelf and showing signs of hypothermia when the officer arrived, according to the DNR.
We’re told the officer threw a floatation device over to the man, who wasn’t able to grab hold of it because he wouldn’t let go of the ice.
The DNR says several other rescue methods proved fruitless, including an attempt that involved tossing a rope and some ice picks, which fell short of the man’s reach. One of the conservation officers used a ramp to push the ice picks closer to the gap when water flooded the ice, which gave in underneath him.
“Once in the water, I swam to and grabbed ahold of him,” says Conservation Officer Jeff Ginn. “I grabbed the PFD (personal floation device) I previously threw to him had him hold it to his chest, then grabbed the rope and ice spikes and swam us to the edge of the ice. I used the ice spikes to hold us against the ice shelf and attempted to tie the rope around his body under his arms.”
One of the other conservation officers, Tim Barboza, ventured onto the ice to secure a rope around Ginn’s floatation device, the DNR continues. They say Ginn was freed from the water but went back in to prevent the man from sinking.
That was when the DNR says the Newaygo Fire Department used an inflatable raft to pull the Grant man from the lake. Ginn made it back onto the ice and was pulled to shore with rope.
The Grant man spent more than a half hour in the icy water and was treated for hypothermia at a Grand Rapids hospital, according to the DNR. He has since been discharged.
We’re told Ginn, who had been in the water for 20 minutes, was treated for hypothermia at Gerber Hospital and was released in the evening.
The DNR credits Newaygo County Central Dispatch, the Newaygo County dive team, Life EMS and Ashland-Grant Fire Department for their assistance in the rescue.
Officials urge extreme caution when venturing on or near icy water. Visit the DNR’s webpage for safety tips.
