Ice Angel rescues snowmobiler
Published: January 4, 2006
The Cohasset Fire Department’s Ice Angel amphibious vehicle may have saved another person over New Year’s weekend after crews rescued a snowmobiler who fell into open water.
Itasca County Sheriff Pat Medure said the Ice Angel — powered by a propeller and able to move across land, water or thin ice — was the only vehicle that could have reached Brian Troumbly of Taconite before dawn Saturday.
Medure said Troumbly, 38, and Michelle Miller, 39, left a Coleraine establishment about 1:30 a.m. Saturday and tried to snowmobile across the Buckeye Mine pit lake. Unusually warm weather has left much of the pit unfrozen.
Miller lost sight of Troumbly and drove her machine into open water, but was able to pull herself onto thicker ice and walk back to Coleraine for help.
The Ice Angel was able to take crews across the pit, despite the mix of thin ice, open water and darkness. They found Troumbly on the ice, where he had managed to crawl after swimming nearly 100 yards, Medure said.
Troumbly had been at the spot for about three hours, Medure said. He was hospitalized for hypothermia but has recovered.
Officials warn that while most lakes have enough ice for snowmobiles, rivers, mine pits and narrows areas on lakes with current are still unsafe for any vehicles. Temperatures have averaged more than 15 degrees above normal for late December and early January.
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