DOOR COUNTY (NBC 26) — A large ice rescue happened near Sturgeon bay on Friday, now one of the fisherman involved is calling it a big misunderstanding, saying his group was never in any danger.
- The location near where the large ice rescue had taken place on Friday
- Kyle Sheehy a member of the Nasewaupee Fire and Rescue team describes the scene on the bay
- Zach Burgess the owner of Why Knot Charter explains his side of the story
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
For Zach Burgess a veteran ice fisherman who runs his own charter service, Friday started out as a typical day of fishing out on Green bay.
"We were out fishing past a crack and my groups all knew that the crack might move" Burgess said.
His group tried to put down bridges over the crack but it was too wide so Burgess went home to get his air boat, when he got back, everything had changed.
"I saw the parking lot full rescue squad people and I was wondering why they were here" Burgess said.
Kyle Sheehy a member of the Nasewaupee Fire Department says the team responded because someone reported being stranded on the ice.
"We were paged out around 1:30 Friday afternoon for potential ice rescue" Sheehy said.
Law enforcement says the call came from a neighbor on Snake Island. However, Burgess alleges the call came from another group set up near them.
"Because we were in the same area, the coast guard and the fire department were going up to all my customers trying to get them to go in" Burgess said.
He advised his charter group not to go with the rescue services.
How many people were actually rescued is also a matter of dispute. Officials say over a dozen were brought in Burgess claims it was only a few.
As for Sheehy, the Nasewaupee Fire Department's policy is to respond regardless of situation.
"Even if people don't need to be rescued, if it's called in we have to respond, it's our duty to respond we want to make sure the people out there are safe" Sheehy said.
Local law enforcement and the charter company agree on one thing. If you're going to be out on the ice, do your homework check the wind and the weather. Their biggest piece of advice, is be ready for anything that could happen while you're out on the ice.
