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Tuesday, February 7, 2006
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After close call, sledders warned to stay off rivers
Staff Writer Authorities are warning snowmobilers to stay off rivers after a 44-year-old Brainerd man took a plunge early Saturday into the Crow Wing River when his snowmobile broke through the ice.
The snowmobiler, Scott Mitchell, was clinging to the ice when he was rescued by the Pillager Fire Department just after midnight Saturday. Mitchell was transported to St. Joseph's Medical Center in Brainerd, where he was treated and released.
Pillager Fire Chief Randy Lee said a nearby homeowner told authorities that the river had only been frozen for about two days before Saturday. He said rescuers had to work their way down river to find enough ice to crawl out to Mitchell.
"There were two inches of ice, at most," Lee said Monday.
Lee said a firefighter wearing a cold water rescue suit crawled out on the ice and tied ropes to Mitchell, who was then pulled to shore by other firefighters and law enforcement personnel.
It was the first time Pillager firefighters have had to use their cold water and ice rescue equipment, Lee said.
"We're all geared up and ready for it, but we've lucked out," Lee said.
Morrison County Sheriff Michel Wetzel said his office is still investigating the circumstances surrounding Mitchell's plunge into the Crow Wing River. He said the Cass County Sheriff's Department assisted in the rescue and investigation.
Both Wetzel and Lee said snowmobilers should never ride onto rivers.
"Lake ice is unstable enough when it's been this warm. River ice, even when it's cold, is unstable because of current shift," Wetzel said. "It's never a good idea to run a machine or even walk on river ice. It's inherently dangerous."
"People should stay off the river," Lee said.
MATT ERICKSON can be reached at matt.erickson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5857.
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