Dozens stranded on ice rescued

Update 5:30 p.m.CATAWBA ISLAND — Multiple agencies worked together to rescue dozens of people trapped Saturday on the ice near Catawba Island State Park.The call came in at about 8:30 a.m. and was sent out as a notification on the new mobile app for the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office to alert people of the rescue and to warn them about the dangers of going out on the ice."It sounds like (they) were out on the ice fishing when it separated and they got stranded," Ottawa County Sheriff Steve Levorchick said.The U.S. Coast Guard estimates about 150 people were on the ice when it started to crack and separate from the sheet attached to the shore."About 100 people were able to rescue themselves by swimming or finding ice that was still connected," Petty Officer Brian McCrum said. "But as it continued to warm up more ice bridges would break up creating more ice floes."Catawba Island fire Lt. Eric Schramm said he heard that some people swam across the open water to the other side, but by the time rescue crews arrived everyone was out of the water.Catawba Island Volunteer Fire Department were the leads in the rescue and received assistance from Put-in-Bay fire, the U.S. Coast Guard, North Central EMS, Catawba Island police and the sheriff's office.Multiple agencies rescued about 75 people trapped on an ice floe near Catawba State Park on Saturday.Air boats from Catawba, Put-in-Bay, the Coast Guard and a civilian rescue organization were used to get to the different ice floes, where the people were stranded. Helicopter crews from the Coast Guard were also used.McCrum said together the different agencies rescued about 46 people in boats and helicopters. Put-in-Bay assistant fire Chief Doug Wilhelm said his department ended up rescuing about 15 people in their air boat.Everyone stranded on the ice floes where back to the shore by about 11 a.m. and no injuries or hypothermia were reported, Schramm said.McCrum said the cracks in the ice were most likely caused by the warming temperatures. Schramm believes the wind also played a factor in creating the ice floes."I'm assuming the wind shifted today, opened up the ice and pushed the slabs away from the rest," Schramm said.The Coast Guard recommends people refrain from going out on the ice because no matter how safe it may look it's too difficult to judge thickness visually, especially as it warms up.Update 12:15 p.m.CATAWBA ISLAND — Multiple local agencies worked together to rescue dozens of people trapped Saturday on the ice near Catawba Island State Park after the ice split apart as they were fishing.The call came in at about 8:30 a.m. and was sent out as a notification on the new mobile app for the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office to alert people of the rescue and to warn them about the dangers of going out on the ice."It sounds like there were about 75 people out on the ice fishing when it separated and they got stranded," Ottawa County Sheriff Steve Levorchick said.Levorchick said 75 was the approximate number he received when the call went out, but Catawba Island fire Lieutenant Eric Schramm said he'd estimate about 100 people were stranded on the ice."I'm assuming the wind shifted today opened up the ice and pushed the slabs away from the rest," Schramm said.Some people were able to walk across before the cracks got too large. Schramm said he heard that some people swam across the open water to the other side, but he couldn't confirm this and they didn't encounter anyone who went into the water during the rescue. Catawba Island Volunteer Fire Department were the leads in the rescue and received assistance from Put-in-Bay fire, the U.S. Coast Guard, North Central EMS, Catawba Island police and the sheriff's office.Air boats from Catawba, Put-in-Bay, the Coast Guard and a civilian rescue organization were used to get to the different ice floes, where the people were stranded. Put-in-Bay assistant fire Chief Doug Wilhelm said his department ended up rescuing about 15 people in their air boat.The emergency responders were able to bring everyone stranded on the ice floe back to the shore by 11 a.m. and no injuries or hypothermia were reported, Schramm said.Update 11:30 a.m.CATAWBA ISLAND — The Ottawa County Sheriff's Office and U.S. Coast Guard rescued dozens of people who were trapped Saturday on the ice near Catawba Island State Park."It sounds like there were about 75 people out on the ice fishing when it separated and they got stranded," Ottawa County Sheriff Steve Levorchick said.Levorchick said 75 was the approximate number he received when the call went out. A dispatcher said everyone was rescued from the ice by about 11 a.m. and no injures were reported.The sheriff's office announced the rescue in a notification sent out through its mobile app at about 8:30 a.m.Levorchick said North Central EMS, Catawba Island fire, Catawba Island police and the coast guard were all at the scene and helped in the rescue efforts. The sheriff's office reminds people ice is always dangerous and people should use caution.Original post 9:22 a.m.Ice rescue underway in Catawba IslandCATAWBA ISLAND — The Ottawa County Sheriff's Office and the U.S. Coast Guard are working to rescue dozens of people trapped on the ice near the Catawba Island State Park."It sounds like there were about 75 people out on the ice fishing when it separated and they got stranded," Ottawa County Sheriff Steve Levorchick said.Levorchick said 75 was the approximate number he received when the call was first made and it may have changed since then. The sheriff's office announced the rescue in a notification sent out through its mobile app at about 8:30 a.m. A dispatcher for the sheriff's office said the rescue was ongoing.Levorchick said North Central EMS, Catawba Island fire and the coast guard were all at the scene and as far as he knows no one is missing. The sheriff's office reminds people ice is always dangerous and people should use caution.*Check back for updatesMore Ottawa County Sheriff's Office articlesReach reporter Michael Harrington at michaelharrington@sanduskyregister.com, follow the Register at Facebook.com/SanduskyRegisterA rescue is underway for people stranded on the ice at the Catawaba Island State Park while fishingA U.S. Coast Guard helicopter helps rescue fisherman stuck on the ice near Catawba Island State Park on Saturday.Ottawa County Sheriff Steve Levorchick said about 75 people were trapped on the ice while fishing after it separated.Air boats were used to rescue people stranded on ice floes on Saturday near the Catawba Island State Park.A U.S. Coast Guard boat during rescue attempts at the Catawba Island State Park.