By Patrick Tepoorten

Balmy December and January weather and the desire to fish conspired last week to send more area residents through the ice on West Rush Lake.

This latest incident occurred Friday at around 2:30 p.m., when Robert Charles Diedrich, 74, of Braham, and his all-terrain vehicle (ATV) went through thin ice just north of the public boat landing on West Rush Lake, according to a report from the Chisago County Sheriff's Office.

Things went from bad to worse when Thomas Raymond Danger, 57, of Braham, attempted to rescue Diedrich and ended up going through the ice himself.

Other fishermen, including Russell William Godfrey, 49, of Rush City, and Michael Daniel Weeks, 43, of North Branch, were able to help Diedrich and Danger from the water.

Both men were treated on the scene by Lakes Region EMS, and released. The Rush City Fire Department and the Minnesota DNR assisted with the incident.

Corporal Scott Sellman of the Sheriff's Office said that Diedrich went through the ice in roughly 20 to 25 feet of water and that ice conditions on the lake that day varied widely from place to place.

West Rush Lake is not the only body of water giving local law enforcement problems. Over the weekend two ice-fishermen went through North Center Lake. According to Sellman, there was open water on the lake that could not be seen due to darkness.

In other places the Sheriff's Office is fulfilling requests for thin ice signs.

Sellman offered this advice for residents who want to be out on the lake.

"Ice is never safe. You should definitely check with local bait stores and resorts for the conditions before you go out on it."

He added that the current cold snap should help improve conditions over the next week.

Comment from Mike Weeks, 1/12/07

Hi Patrick, great article! Just curios how you got the names of the rescuers?

I didn't give anyone mine?

Thanks,

Mike

Comment from Amy Ramstad, 1/15/07

The Rush City Fire Department and the Minnesota DNR assisted with the incident.
This is WRONG,they were at the scene yes, but stayed on the shore.Both victims walked over 3/4 of a mile into the landing.The DNR officer on the scene stayed on shore and never took her ATV off of her DNR vehicle.

Comment from Patrick Tepoorten, 1/15/07

Amy,

Thank you for your comment. You may very well be right that RC Fire and the DNR did little on the scene. In the case of the news story, "assist" refers more to the fact that they were called to the scene, rather than what they might have done there.