ALEXANDRIA-A 4-year-old girl and a 34-year-old man were rescued from Lake Ida about 10 miles north of Alexandria after the Arctic Cat utility vehicle they were in ice went through the ice in about 7 feet of water.
The Douglas County Sheriff's office received a 911 call about noon from Matthew Hawkins who witnessed the utility vehicle go through the ice on the north end of Lake Ida, near Big Horn Bay Resort.
Hawkins reported that the occupants, Patrick Brian Wolf, 34, of Alexandria, and the 4-year-old girl, were standing on top of the vehicle, which was fully submerged in the lake.
A Nebulus floatation device was used by law enforcement and first responders were able to rescue Wolf and the child. According to the sheriff's report, the two were wet and cold, but otherwise uninjured.
They were transported to Douglas County Hospital via North Ambulance.
ADVERTISEMENT
The report stated that Wolf was not familiar with Lake Ida and the open water channel on the north end of the lake. He was reportedly traveling from Gehrke's Point Road to a fish house on the lake when the incident happened.
The Douglas County Sheriff's Office is advising everyone to use extreme caution when venturing out on Douglas County lakes because of the rapidly changing ice conditions. The recent, unseasonably warm weather is creating scattered areas of thin ice. In addition, there are areas of standing water on the ice that may hide areas of thin ice and open water. They advise that all persons going out on the lake wear a life preserver and have ice picks for self-rescue.
Responding to the scene included the Douglas County Sheriff's Office, Leaf Valley First Responders, North Ambulance and the Douglas County Water Rescue Team.
