NEWAYGO COUNTY, Mich. — A Michigan Department of Natural Resources conservation officer and a 21-year-old man from Grant has been released from the hospital after an ice rescue.
The incident occurred on Blanch Lake in Newaygo County on Sunday, Jan. 8.
Conservation officers responded to a 911 call around 3:20 p.m., stating that a man walking on the ice had broken through into the water.
Jeff Ginn, one of the conservation officers who responded, crawled on the ice into the open water about 50 to 75 yards from the shore.
Ginn found the man displaying signs of hypothermia while holding on to the edge of the one-inch thick ice.
“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 then attempted to throw the man ice picks and rope.
“He was unable to wrap the rope around himself because he did not want to let go of the ice,” Ginn said. “I threw him ice spikes, but he couldn’t reach them.”
An off-road vehicle ramp was being used by Ginn to distribute his weight more evenly. He then attempted to use the ramp to push the ice picks closer to the man.
“Water began to flood the surface of the ice, then broke underneath me, causing me to enter the water,” Ginn said. “Once in the water, I swam to and grabbed ahold of him. I grabbed the PFD 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.”
A second conservation officer, Tim Barboza, crawled on the ice to secure a rope to Ginn's PFD in order to pull the men from the water. When the line was secure, emergency responders attempted to save the two men, but the ice continued to break.
Ginn was able to be pulled from the water, but he turned around and went back in to save the still-struggling man.
“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.”
The Newaygo Fire Department deployed an inflatable raft with emergency responders in cold-water survival suits to rescue the man and remove him from the freezing waters.
After the 21-year-old man was rescued, Ginn crawled back out of the water onto the ice and was dragged to shore using ropes.
Both Ginn and the 21-year-old man suffered from hypothermia with body temperatures dropping to 89 degrees and below.
Ginn was treated for hypothermia at Gerber Hospital in Fremont and released Sunday evening.
The 21-year-old man was also treated for hypothermia after being in the water for more than 30 minutes. He was taken to a hospital in Grand Rapids where he was treated and later released.
“Going into a long weekend, this is when conservation officers usually see a lot of snowmobile and ice-related activity,” Shaw said. “We hope everyone keeps safety in mind by being cautious on the ice and operating snowmobiles sober and at a safe speed.”
The 21-year-old man was not identified.
Michigan DNR: Winter outdoor recreation activities require preparation and caution. If you witness someone break through the ice, immediately call 911. Before spending any time on or around ice, review ice safety tips at Michigan.gov/IceSafety.
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