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Two rescued from ice on bay of Green Bay

SCOTT — The sound of sirens Thursday brought residents out of their homes to see an unusual, yet not uncommon, sight — someone floating on a piece of ice away from shore.

Two Town of Scott-area men were ice fishing when their slab of ice — also with a portable ice shanty and snowmobile — broke off and drifted more than 100 yards from shore Thursday near Point Comfort Road.

An Eagle III helicopter spotted the two men from the air, and a Sturgeon Bay Coast Guard boat, launched from Dyckesville, retrieved the 25-year-olds at about 6 p.m. from Green Bay.

Two members of the county’s dive team also assisted at the scene.

The two men appeared unharmed, said Sgt. Todd Delain of the Brown County Sheriff’s Department.

“I was kind of nervous for those guys,” said Wayne Everson, who was at a friend’s home close to the bay when he noticed the men drifting from shore. He called 911 and watched the men until officials arrived.

Delain said the men were fishing close to the water when the “substantial piece of ice” broke off. He was able to contact the men by cell phone and told them to remain calm and stay in the center of the ice.

Meanwhile, a street over, residents gathered to watch the rescue mission.

“We don’t often see cops around here,” said Tony Van Laanen, a Town of Scott resident.

Van Laanen, along with others, gathered at Volk’s Landing on Edgewater Beach Road.

Van Laanen said because of the water current under the bay, it is not uncommon for people to become stranded on a piece of ice, especially in what he described as a mild winter day.

“It’s too warm,” he said.

Personnel took about two hours to rescue the men from the ice, but Delain said the lack of an immediate danger and safety required time.

“In any rescue like this, the most important is the safety of everyone involved,” he said.

Green Bay Press-Gazette