3 Children and 6 Adults Rescued From Ice Sheet on Lake Pepin

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Lake City, MN (KROC-AM News) - The Goodhue County Sheriff's Office rescued nine people from a sheet of ice in Lake Pepin early Sunday evening and is now advising no motorized vehicles be driven on the ice and that anyone venturing onto the ice uses extreme caution.

Officials say a call was received around 6:30 PM that reported there were nine people stranded on a sheet of ice in the middle of the lake. The Sheriff's Office says the six adults and three children had entered the ice at the Maiden Rock landing on the Wisconsin side of the river and were ice fishing when the ice sheet separated.

Goodhue County Deputies, and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officers, along with personnel from the Lake City Fire Department and Ambulance responded to the scene. Officials say airboats were used to transport the stranded people to safety on shore. Deputies also went out today in an effort to retrieve a snowmobile, ATVs, and fishing gear that were left on the ice sheet.

The Sheriff's Office says the incident should serve as a reminder that ice conditions are extremely dangerous. A news release says the combination of a warm winter and recent precipitation has resulted in a dangerous situation with the current from the Mississippi River complicating the ice conditions on Lake Pepin.