LAKELAND, Minn. (WCCO) — By now we’ve all heard the warnings to stay off the ice after our recent March warmup. Temperatures well into the 60s and bright sunny days have left our lakes and rivers with honeycombed sheets of ice.
Now with gusty north winds, the combination of factors quickly turned treacherous for a Lakeland man who was out exploring the St. Croix River on Tuesday.
READ MORE: Minnesota Legislature Adjourns With Work Unfinished, But Unclear If Special Session Will HappenChris Dedrickson grew up on the river and told us he was attempting to walk out to a nearby island when suddenly the north wind took over.
That’s when the 30 x 15 foot chunk of ice he was standing on broke away from shore and began floating downriver.
“It broke free and figured I could get by paddling with some sticks. Apparently that wasn’t the case, because the wind kicked up and kept me in the middle, I wasn’t able to get over to either shore,” Dedrickson said.
Luckily, Dedrickson was carrying his cell phone and called a friend who was going to head out in a canoe. Instead, Washington County sheriff’s deputies and the Hudson Fire Department used an air boat to pull Dedrickson from the floating ice cake.
