CASS COUNTY — An 82-year-old Bemidji man has been pronounced dead after his ATV broke through the ice on Friday morning on Pike Bay in Cass Lake.

Dispatch received a report at 11:15 a.m. Friday that the ATV broke through the ice on Pike Bay and a person had gone into the water, according to a release from Cass County Sheriff Bryan Welk.

First responders arrived at the scene and learned that a Polaris Ranger ATV had been traveling on the ice when it broke through.

The ATV driver, an 82-year-old Bemidji man, was pulled from the water by witnesses who were fishing in the area, the release said. Lifesaving efforts were initiated by people who were on the ice near the incident.

Deputies assisted in getting the man to a safer area and continued with lifesaving efforts, the release said. The man was then taken from the ice by airboat to an awaiting ambulance and taken to the Cass Lake Indian Services Hospital where lifesaving efforts were continued.

The man was later pronounced dead at the hospital and an autopsy is scheduled with the Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office.

The man’s identity is being withheld pending notification of family members, the release said. Another man who was a passenger on the ATV and who had also gone into the water was treated at the scene.

Assisting in the rescue and recovery efforts were the Leech Lake Tribal Police, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Cass Lake Fire Department, Bemidji Fire Department, Leech Lake Ambulance and Bemidji Ambulance.

Ice conditions remain dangerous statewide after the warmest December on record in Minnesota. On Dec. 28, a 78-year-old Wisconsin man drowned when the Bombardier tracked vehicle in which he was riding broke through about 12 inches of ice on Lake of the Woods’ Northwest Angle. An Osage, Minnesota, man drowned after his ATV went through the ice Dec. 22 or 23 on Big Toad Lake in Becker County, east of Detroit Lakes.

“Even though we have experienced colder weather this week, ice conditions still remain very unstable and poor,” Welk said in the release. “Areas that had open water earlier in the week may just have a thin layer of ice on them now and are not safe enough for travel. It is extremely important to check ahead when traveling on the ice.”

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