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Going through ice a life changing experience for Mobridge anglers


What started as an afternoon trip across the ice to fish along the rail grade ended up as a harrowing experience Friday, Feb. 28, for three Mobridge men.
At a little after 4 p.m. Dick Deacon, Marion Schlomer and Jeff Wolff set out across the ice to where their fishing shacks sat along the rail grade between the U.S Highway 12 and railroad bridges. Deacon and Schlomer were in the lead in a Ranger side-by-side, followed by Wolff in his Ranger. They were following the same path they used for the past month to reach their fishing site when the afternoon took a frightening turn.
They went out on the ice from the west side of the Highway 12 bridge and were about 200 yards offshore, north and east of the bridge when the ice underneath Deacon’s Ranger gave way, dropping the back end into water. Schlomer, realizing what was happening, opened the passenger door and was able to step out onto the ice. Deacon immediately tried his door, but the Ranger was far enough into the lake that the ice blocked his door.
Schlomer made his way over to the driver’s side of the vehicle to try and open Deacon’s door but was not able to pull it open. The ice gave way under him and both he and Deacon were in the water.
Wolff, who was about 50 yards behind the first Ranger, grabbed a scoop shovel from his vehicle, hoping to be able to reach his friends and pull them to safety. Before he could lay across the ice and use the shovel to pull Schlomer from the water, the ice gave way under him.
At the same time, Deacon knew he would have to wait until the Ranger was full of water to open his door. With water nearly to his nose, he took a deep breath and gave a final try to the door. It opened and he made his way to where the light was coming through the hole in the ice.
“I knew I was going down and the only way I was going to get out was to wait until the side-by-side was under water,” he said. “I couldn’t tell exactly where the hole was . I started to think I didn’t have a lot left in me. I took another stroke and banged my head on the ice.”
He knew he was up but misjudged where the opening was and was caught underneath the ice for what seemed a long time. He said although he was losing his breath and was tired, the adrenaline kicked in and he kicked towards the surface, making his way to open water.
Schlomer said he thought it was about 10 to 15 seconds before Deacon’s head popped through the hole.
“It felt like three years went by,” said Schlomer.
About 10 days prior, a friend who had been fishing, had dropped into a hole in the ice and since that time Deacon had ice picks in his hands while he drove across the ice. It was those picks that helped him hold onto the edge of the ice until he could be pulled to safety.
Schlomer, who said the good Lord helped him pull himself from the water, grabbed Deacon by his back and pulled him onto the ice.
Wolff, with the help of an unknown man with a rope, had been pulled from the water. The man lassoed Wolff on the first try and pulled him to safety.
“It was pretty amazing that he was able to do that on the first try,” said Deacon.
The men said Mobridge Police Officer Al Bohle and several BIA officer were crossing the bridge when the incident happened and had made their way to the shoreline to help. A Mobridge Ambulance was also there when the men made their way to the shoreline. Deacon rode with Wolff in his Ranger and Schlomer walked to safety.
The men removed their wet clothes, (Deacon had lost his pants while he was in the water) and both said although the clothes were heavy, they never really got as chilled as they thought they would.
The ambulance crew checked them over but Deacon drove his own vehicle to Mobridge Regional Hospital to be sure he was alright.
“My knees are pretty cut up and my head was bleeding but otherwise I’m okay,” he said.
Both men said they were so thankful for everyone who stopped to help them and for the ambulance crew who were there to help.
“This was a life changing moment and I am very, very thankful it turned out the way it did,” said Deacon.
Schlomer said a higher power was with them that afternoon.
“The good Lord was on our side and took care of us,” he said. “It could have turned out a whole lot worse.”
Deacon said the incident is still too fresh in his mind for him to think about ice fishing again.
“I love to ice fish but I don’t know how this will affect me,” he said. “At this point I just don’t know.”
Schlomer said he and some friends went back onto the ice on Saturday to retrieve the ice shacks. If the men had traveled a bit to the north of their normal path, they would have been fine, he said. There was 19 inches of ice where the shacks sat. There were three to four inches where the Ranger went down.
“I don’t doubt we will go ice fishing again,” said Schlomer. “I know we will be checking things out a lot more.”
The men had traveled the same path the night before and were thankful they didn’t go down in the dark. They said the outcome could have been very different if the incident had happened in the dark.
Although they were apprehensive about telling this story, they hope it might get through to some other anglers to use more caution and make good decisions.
“The ice can change so fast you just never know,” said Deacon. “Listen to what other people are saying about the conditions.”

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