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One of rescuers of family that fell through ice at Mosquito Lake says experience is key
By Ed Runyan
BAZETTA
Monday afternoon, one day after seven members of a family fell through the ice while ice fishing at the Mosquito Lake State Park marina, there were about seven other ice-fishing shelters on the lake, most in the marina.
Inside one of them was Gene Mock of Champion, who helped rescue the family.
Mock said when he and other ice fishermen heard yelling coming from the shore on the other side of the marina Sunday, they “thought somebody had caught a big one,” he said.
“Then they started screaming for help,” he said, adding that two little kids “were screaming pretty good.”
When Mock got there, he helped two of the family members get out of the frigid water. “It was a group effort by all of the fishermen on the lake,” he said of the rescue.
He believes some members of the family were in the water three to four minutes before they got out.
“They could barely move. They were froze,” Mock said.
All seven were taken to a hospital to be treated for hypothermia after the 4 p.m. incident. A Bazetta firefighter said Monday night the fire department does not have any information on whether any of the seven are still hospitalized.
Bazetta Fire Chief Dennis Lewis told 21 WFMJ-TV, The Vindicator’s broadcast partner, that included in the seven victims are two 7-year-old twins, an 11-year-old and a 12-year-old.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources said they were taken to a hospital for evaluation. The accident occurred about 15 feet from the end of a dock near the concession and stage side of the marina.
It might seem strange that ice fishermen would go back on the ice the next day after such an accident, but Mock said having experience is critical with ice fishing.
“They apparently were not real experienced,” Mock said, noting they did not have a spud bar like the one he brought Monday to check the thickness of the ice, which he estimated was about 21/2 to 3 inches.
He said another issue was they had too many people.
“They overloaded the ice,” Mock said. “Two people max” is how many Mock said he thinks should be in an ice-fishing shelter.
Mock has been ice fishing 10 years, and it’s not uncommon for ice fishermen to fall in the water, he said. “Usually it’s not that bad.”
An Ohio Department of Natural Resources YouTube video says to always carry a cellphone in a sealed plastic bag and to ice fish near someone who can help if you fall in. Also, have a flotation device with you.