Game warden goes through the ice

Incident reminds him of ice safety lessons

By FRITZ BUSCH

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- The evening of Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2002 started innocently enough for Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Regional Enforcement Supervisor Randy Evans.

Evans, a resident of Lake Washington in Le Sueur County, and a friend who was celebrating his birthday decided to go the a nearby marina on the lake. Ten minutes after they arrived, a young man rushed towards them, asking for help with two elderly men who fell through the ice.

The marina owner quickly found two ropes, a life jacket and flotation cushion that Evans took with him before he jumped on the back of the young man's all-terrain-vehicle.

As he approached the accident site, Evans saw people standing nearby with flashlights. He jumped off the ATV and noticed the elderly men were already out of the water. They were whisked off on the ATV while others at the scene left.

All of the sudden, Evans found himself alone on the ice in the dark with light street clothes on. He tried retracing the route the ATV took from the marina.

Blinded by darkness, Evans walked about 50 yards towards the marina without realizing he walked into the open water.

"I went completely under the water," Evans said. "When I came back up, I realized how pitch black everything was and that I was completely alone."

Evans clung to the boat cushion and tried to stay calm. He tried to reach the hole in the ice that was about 10x6 feet. Without snow on the ice, Evans found it nearly impossible to get enough of a grip to pull himself out of the water.

Twice, he pulled himself up out of the water, only to fall back in. He tried to think positive.

"In a situation like that, I've learned that the mind can conjure up some pretty frightening scenarios," Evans said.

Moving the cushion near his waist, Evans kicked as hard as he could and managed to slide several inches of the cushion onto the ice. It gave him just enough grip to pull himself out.

"I was probably in the water only about five minutes but it seemed like forever," he said.

Back on his feet, he still couldn't tell if there were any other open water areas nearby. He slowly walked toward lights on shore, not feeling cold just then.

Soon an ATV approached. Evans got the attention of the driver, keeping him from the open water. He rode safely to shore on the ATV. Back home, he began shaking and felt pain in his back and ribs.

Now Evans is particularly concerned with people venturing out on the ice.

"I see some people out there and just have to shake my head," he said. "Even though I've always been extremely cautious about going out on ice, I still found myself in a potentially deadly situation. One word can define ice -- unpredictable."

His experience reminded him that he should have put the life jacket on in addition to holding the cushion to his chest. He'll never make that mistake again, he said.

Ice picks (small wood blocks with protruding nails) would have helped him get out of the water much faster.

"I don't know how any elderly person or somebody without much strength would make it out," Evans said. "Every lake has areas where ice is more dangerous. If you don't know the lake, don't wander, especially at night."

He urged people to check with local resorts, bait shops and other people familiar with the lake and ice conditions before walking on it.