Boy, 11, Rescued From Thin Ice
Published: March 18, 2005
An 11-year-old boy was rescued from the Mississippi River Thursday after he walked on thin ice.
The Minneapolis Fire Department was called to the river near 42nd and Lyndale Avenues North in Minneapolis.
Authorities said the boy left his bike on shore and then walked out onto the thin ice of the river. He made it to a concrete pylon when a woman spotted him and told him not to move.
“He walked out there,” said Sean Olsen with the Minneapolis Fire Department. “He thought he’d walk right back. Well, you don’t ever get to take the exact path back. It’s a good thing he didn’t, he stayed put.”
The boy waited while a dozen Minneapolis firefighters teamed up to make sure he didn’t fall through.
An ambulance crew checked out the boy once he was rescued. The boy is fine.
The Mississippi River is notoriously dangerous. Ice plates are floating and shifting on the river, making the ice fickle.
On Thursday night, a group of 13-year-olds were walking along the river just moments after the 11-year-old boy was rescued.
“Sometimes we like to walk on the ice if it’s super cold when we’re bored,” said Roger Lott. “Most of the time, we don’t go that deep.”
The teens said the river is a popular hangout place, but they said they know better than to walk on the ice this late in the winter.
“That’s just dumb, going down out here right now,” said Leah Overbaugh. “The other day the ice was moving.”
Firefighters hope this rescue serves as a reminder to everyone, to stay off the ice.
This is the first time this season the Minneapolis fire department has had to rescue anyone from the ice. Local agencies participate in continuous training for this type of incident.
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