Teen treated after snowmobile falls through ice in Benton County

A teenager was treated for hypothermia on Friday after the snowmobile he was driving fell into the water on a Benton County lake.

The Benton County Sheriff’s Office says a witness called 911 at around 11:30 a.m. and said a snowmobile fell through the ice on Little Rock Lake.

The caller added that the driver, a 16-year-old boy, was able to get back onto the ice and then walked over toward a fish house.

Deputies and fire crews responded to St. Regis landing and met with the boy, who’d gotten a ride back to shore from a fisherman. He was then treated for hypothermia and said that he saw open water while driving the snowmobile but wasn’t able to stop in time and fell in. The agencies are now working with the boy and his family to get the snowmobile removed, the sheriff’s office says.

It also provided another opportunity for the department to discuss ice safety. The sheriff’s office noted that even with the colder temperatures recently, there is still thin ice and open water in many areas of Little Rock Lake and many other lakes. Because of that, anyone venturing onto a lake is urged to exercise extreme caution and have the appropriate tools to check ice thickness and ensure safety in the event the ice does break.

It happened a day after two people were rescued on Upper Red Lake and the same day a man died on Mille Lacs. There have also been many other ice rescues over the past month across the state, including several others on Upper Red Lake.