200 Minnesota Ice Fishermen Rescued from Half-Frozen Lake

An early weekend of ice fishing on Minnesota’s famed Upper Red Lake came to a scary halt on Monday, Nov. 28 when a large chunk of ice broke off and stranded an estimated 200 ice fishermen and women. The anglers have since been rescued, thanks to emergency responders, nearby resorts, and one small ice bridge.

According to a press release, the Beltrami County Sheriff’s Department started receiving calls at approximately 11:34 a.m. from distressed anglers who realized the ice chunk was drifting away from shore on the southeastern part of the lake. By the time emergency responders arrived to the scene, an estimated 30 yards of water stood between the ice chunk and dry land on one side.

Rescue teams used drones to assess the situation. Beltrami County Emergency Management also used an emergency alert system that sent a message to every cell phone on the ice chunk, warning unknowing anglers of the situation and giving latitude and longitude coordinates for the evacuation point. Nearby ice fishing resort JR’s Corner Access provided an ice bridge long enough to span the narrowest part of the crack and every angler evacuated the ice chunk by 2:37 p.m.

“Part of our job is monitoring and looking at cracks and watching the [ice] and making sure we have bridges ready when needed,” Adam Studniski of JR’s Corner Access told BBC.

In the aftermath of the rescue, there’s been plenty of online criticism.

“Send a bill to the resort that let them on the lake and to each individual person on the ice. Maybe….just maybe they will actually think in the future,” one Facebook comment reads. “They put a lot of people in danger today and cost a lot of money to rescue them.”

JR’s Corner Access will remain closed through the end of Tuesday, Nov. 29. In the meantime, the rescued anglers remain thankful for their safety. It will be an especially memorable day for Andy LaBarge and Lydia Thole, a couple who got engaged while out on the ice, according to Northern News Now.

“Andy had tied my ring on a lure and put it on my bobber line and I came back in and he’s like ‘Oh you got a fish,’” Thole recounted. “So I reel it up and he’s on a knee, and I said ‘Oh my god!’”

The Beltrami County Sheriff’s Office reminds the public to stay safe and alert to ice conditions.

“[We remind] those who are thinking of heading on the ice that early season ice is very unpredictable,” the press release says. “Extreme caution should be used when heading on the ice and to check the thickness frequently to ensure an adequate amount of ice.”

In addition to the Beltrami County Sheriff’s Office, other responding groups included Kelliher Fire and Rescue, Red Lake Nation Fire, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Minnesota State Patrol, Blackduck Ambulance, and the Lake of the Woods Sheriff’s Office.