The Fergus Falls Daily Journal

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68-year-old survives icy plunge

Smith held onto the edge of the ice and desperately yelled for help. Several youths fishing in an ice house nearby heard Smith, and one of them, Adam Sletten, called the Grant County Sheriff’s Department. Bruce Wilson, another of the youths, called his father David, who was in an ice house about one-half mile away. According to David Wilson, he and Tom Morgan jumped on an ATV and drove to where the youths were fishing, where they also heard the pleas for help. &uot;We could tell someone was in trouble,&uot; Wilson said. Wilson and Morgan took off and found ATV tracks leading to an open hole in the ice off Point Comfort on the west central side of the lake. They saw Smith clinging to the edge of the ice. &uot;When we got there, there was desperation in his voice,&uot; Wilson said. &uot;We didn’t even think, we just knew we had to do something.&uot; Wilson and Morgan crawled on their bellies to rescue Smith. Another friend, Doyle Derby arrived and held their feet as they pulled Smith from the water. Wilson said he and Morgan knew they could also fall into the water, but they also knew that plenty of help was on the way. An unidentified man had tossed a boat cushion to Wilson and Morgan. That same person went to find a rope, but Wilson said they couldn’t wait for him to get back. &uot;He was about history, so we each grabbed one of his hands and pulled,&uot; Wilson said. Once Smith was out of the water, he was loaded onto an ATV and rushed to shore to the Delores Derby residence. Wilson and Morgan helped strip off Smith’s clothes and then an EMT took over. &uot;He just about passed out when we pulled him onto the ice,&uot; Wilson said. &uot;Another five minutes and he wouldn’t have made it.&uot; Smith was taken by ambulance to ELEAH Medical Center in Elbow Lake. The sheriff’s department said Smith’s condition was improving and he should recover. His condition was not available Sunday night. Wilson said most of the ice on the lake is a foot thick. But he said pressure ridges are opening up the ice in places. Smith told sheriff’s deputies he was in the water for about 20 minutes. Wilson said it was probably 15 minutes at the most. Smith’s four-wheeler sank to the bottom of the lake in about eight feet of water. jim.sturgeon@fergusfallsjournal.com