Sheriff: 3 fisherman, ice shanty, caught off guard by wind storm

By Anna Muckenfuss

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    MCKINLEY TOWNSHIP, Michigan (WNEM) — Three men were rescued after being caught off guard by a powerful wind storm Sunday morning.

The Huron County Sheriff’s Office said that just before 8:00 a.m., deputies were sent to the Fillion Road Public Access Site for reports of an ice fishing shanty incident.

A witness said that a large shanty was being blown across the ice, and there was a person struggling outside of it. Winds were reported to be 50 mph or more.

Kelly Hanson, the Huron County Sheriff, said the shanty appeared to be homemade, and the size of a small camper. Investigators estimated that the shanty traveled one mile during the incident.

Deputies stood by on shore and kept track of the fisherman who were about 1.5 miles offshore while the Caseville Fire Department responded to the scene with an airboat.

Hanson said the airboat ended up not being used because the fisherman were able to get back to shore on their own.

Deputies learned the local men has spent the night fishing in the shanty and were starting to head in when the incident occurred. One man was using the bathroom of the shanty when it took off on the ice out of control.

All three men said they were uninjured and refused treatment from an ambulance.

Hanson said his office warned other fisherman to stay off the ice until the winds subside, and to be extra careful when going back out on the deteriorating ice.

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