Daniel Kool – Portland Press Herald, Maine
Dec. 16—A 12-year-old fell through the ice on Graham Lake on Sunday before being rescued roughly three-quarters of a mile from land, officials said.
The child was rescued uninjured, along with three other 12-year-olds who were standing on top of the ice and on nearby islands. All four had left the grounds of KidsPeace, a residential mental health facility in Ellsworth.
The Ellsworth Fire Department initially responded to a fire alarm at KidsPeace’s campus late Sunday morning. Though that was determined to be a false alarm, staff said it gave the four children an opportunity to escape the grounds, according to a written statement by the Ellsworth fire and police departments.
The children were dressed in pajamas, the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife said in a written statement.
Police, fire and Maine Warden Service officers used a drone, airplane and dog to search the surrounding area, checking roads and residences before spotting the children on the ice.
Game warden Eric Rudolph stopped one of the children on an island across the ice from the mainland. He crossed the ice to find the child “wet and hypothermic” the wildlife department said in a release.
“The child told Warden Rudolph that his friend had fallen through the ice and pointed to an area further up the lake,” the wildife department said.
Meanwhile, an Ellsworth police officer found another one of the children on top of the ice near Route 179, locally known as North Street, and brought the child back to his vehicle to warm up.
A pilot with the warden service then spotted the remaining two children, both of whom were on the ice at the time, the wildlife department said. One appeared to be clinging to the edge of the ice after falling into the water.
To reach those children, four firefighters carried canoes onto the thin ice, rescuing one child who was by then standing on a nearby island and pulling the child who had fallen through the ice into the boat. They treated both children for hypothermia, the police and fire departments said.
Three children were transported to Maine Coast Memorial Hospital for treatment, the police and fire departments said. It was not clear what their conditions were Monday afternoon.
The Ellsworth rescue followed a similar incident on Notched Lake, along the border of Gray and Raymond, where a man fell through the ice Saturday, Gray Fire Rescue said.
That man was able to get himself safely out of the water and return home, but he did not notify authorities, who continued searching, the department said in a written statement.
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“This could have been a tragic outcome,” the department said. “Reminder, if you do go (through) the ice and are lucky to get yourself out and people have seen you, those people probably have called 911. Do your part and let authorities know you are safe.”
STAYING SAFE
The wildlife department recommends checking the color of any ice before attempting to step onto it and offer a rhyming mnemonic device:
“Thick and blue, tried and true. Thin and crispy, way too risky.”
But the department emphasizes that color alone is not always a sufficient indicator and urge outdoor explorers to stay off ice that appears to be less than 4 inches thick. Ice over 4 inches “may allow for ice fishing or other recreational activities on foot,” but thicker ice is needed for snowmobiles, ATVs and larger vehicles, according to the department.
Those venturing onto the ice should also avoid areas with currents, near bridges and near inlets and outlets, the department says.
If you fall through the ice, do not attempt to climb back up, as doing so could break the ice further, the department says.
“Spread your arms out on the unbroken ice and kick hard. This will help lift your body onto the ice and then roll to safety,” the department suggests.
If you see someone else fall through the ice, do not approach the edge of the hole. Instead, try to pull them out with a long object, such as a stick or a rope, if possible, and call for 911 professional help.
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