(March 2001, Ohio) Lake Erie claimed three more victims who were hoping to catch a few fish but caught instead a fatal chill. "Someone noticed tracks leading to a hole and an ice chest floating in the water," said Deputy Sheriff Roger Garn.
The three men had been driving on a thin sheet of ice surrounded by open patches of water, which they may have overlooked due to poor visibility caused by a morning snowstorm. Suddenly, to no one's surprise but theirs, their all-terrain vehicle plunged through the ice. Hours later divers rescued the bodies from 10 feet of 34-degree water.
The winters have not been cold enough to allow ice fishing on the lake for at least three years, and authorities have warned the public about the unsafe conditions. In January 21 anglers were rescued from a patch of ice that broke away from shore. Yet even the recent deaths do little to deter fisherman. Deputy Sheriff Garn said bemusedly, "We're taking three people off in body bags, and (dozens) were still going out to fish."
DarwinAwards.com © 1994 - 2012
Submitted by: Peter Nicastro
Reference: Associated Press