BROWN COUNTY, WI (WTAQ) – Emergency crews made two rescues of anglers stranded on the ice Tuesday morning.
Officials say conditions led to the ice breaking away from shore, sending the fishermen drifting.
The ice that broke away on the Bay of Green Bay was estimated to be about 10 miles long.
One person was rescued at Red River County Park, north of Dyckesville and the other was a group of 13 people that were rescued near Volk’s Landing, South of Dyckesville.
Devin Mathewson was one of the rescued fishermen.
“I wasn’t really scared, I was more angry at myself.”
He said he noticed a little too late that the ice was cracking.
“It was a little scary because I was stuck on a piece of ice and little pieces started chipping off.
DNR Conservation Warden Darren Kuhn said that is exactly what concerned him as his crew started the rescue.
“As they were picking up the last batch, the ice was breaking underneath their feet. This could have turned very bad and tragic in a matter of minutes.”
Brown County Sheriff’s Office brought the fishermen safely to shore.
All parties refused medical treatment.
Bayside Ice & Marine Recovery was sent out to retrieve the angler’s gear that also drifted away.
Tom Drzewiecki, Captain, and Owner of Bayside Ice & Marine Recovery says they had to act quickly.
“The gear was about a mile and a half to a mile and three quarters away from where we started”, he explained. “If that would have sat overnight, it could have ended up in Escanaba.”
Originally the ice was reported to be shifting out from shore and had a 50-foot crack opening that quickly became a half mile wide.
Drzewiecki says a situation like that is rare, but conditions Tuesday made it happen.
“That little ice on a big body of water, and the wind starts to blow in the wrong direction resulted in the ice cracking off right on shore.”
He says if the wind picks up at all while you are on thin ice, it is time to get off of it quickly.
Drzewiecki says the fact that temperatures have not been very cold has not given us much time to form.
The Brown County Sheriff’s Office would like to remind everyone to check the ice conditions prior to venturing out on the ice. Due to the warm weather ice conditions can deteriorate rapidly.
