Video shows Coast Guard cutter rescue snowmobiler stranded on ice near Mackinac Island
The U.S. Coast Guard worked with Mackinac Island's first responders to rescue a snowmobile operator who became stranded amid broken ice a mile off the Michigan island.
The rescue call was placed to Mackinac Island Fire Department about 4:40 p.m. Sunday, fire chief Jason St. Onge said. Both fire and EMS were called out, then the Coast Guard was notified. The man's location at the time was about a mile off the west shore of the island.
The snowmobiler had been previously advised by Deputy Fire Chief Larry Rickley to not go out in the elements, the fire chief said. "Conditions were worse than a whiteout (if that's possible)," Onge said.
A blizzard warning remains in effect for that part of Northern Michigan until 8 a.m. Tuesday, the National Weather Service in Gaylord says.
The man was told to stay where he was. In the meantime, several crew members from the Mackinac Island Fire Department got their rescue gear on and headed onto the ice.
"It was extremely slow going as drifting snow was waist deep and the ice jagged and difficult to climb over. Extreme coordination between shore based firefighters, Central Dispatch and County Emergency Manager Bryce Tracy were able to track firefighters as they disappeared into the white out," the fire chief said in a statement.
First responders asked the victim to start making his way toward the fire crews. He then ran into open water and said he could not go any further.
The U.S. Coast Guard said at first they could not reach the man and would not put Guardsmen on the ice. Shortly after that message, the Cutter Mackinaw crew confirmed they could see him and would try to reach him.
The USCG Cutter Mackinaw crew was able to bring the person aboard with a rope system after approaching the ice shard. The operator is now reported to be in stable condition after receiving medical care.
The snowmobile was also recovered by the cutter crew.
With that effort in progress, firefighters began their walk back to safety.
"It took MIFD members almost 40 minutes to walk 2,000 feet due to conditions," the fire chief said.
"It should be noted that earlier in the day another individual from off the Island asked if the ice was ok and was advised by the MIFD Chief that he would surely be lost if he attempted to cross in the current conditions."
Had the Cutter Mackinaw not already been in the area, the chief said, the snowmobiler would have certainly been lost to the water. The ice he had landed on was quickly getting smaller.
Given the conditions, the Coast Guard is expected to cut the ice between Mackinac Island and St. Ignace within a matter of days.
