Beltrami Co. Officials Warn Of Unsafe Ice After More Than 11 Stranded Anglers Rescued

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- More than 11 anglers needed to be rescued after becoming stranded on Upper Red Lake Tuesday, prompting reminders of the dangers of unsafe ice.

According to the Beltrami County Sheriff's Office, its office received both official and unofficial reports Tuesday that people fishing on Upper Red Lake had become stranded on ice when strong south winds caused the unsafe ice to separate from shore.

"Eleven known people were rescued by Kelliher Fire & Rescue with reports of many others being rescued by local resorts," the sheriff's office said.

The exact known number of rescued is unknown, however, because rescue personnel were contacted directly to rescue those stranded on the ice.

"The Beltrami County Sheriff's Office or 911 Dispatch Center were not called. This circumvented the safe procedures put in place that keeps all first responders as safe as possible during these rescue operations," the sheriff's office said.

On Wednesday morning, the sheriff's office asked Red Lake area resorts not to allow anglers out on the unsafe ice.

"Doing so risk's the lives of our first responder's and in Beltrami County, like most Minnesota's rural areas, our first responders are volunteers-they are our family, our friends, and our neighbors. Please do not put their lives at risk," the sheriff's office said.

The sheriff's office says early cold weather means the lake is beginning to ice over earlier than usual, but with a mixed report on the thickness of the ice. Social media accounts are also reportedly being used to exploit how safe the ice is, when it isn't.

"Ice is never 100 percent safe and it is absolutely unsafe this early in the winter fishing season," the sheriff's office said.