U.S. Coast Guard came to the rescue of Canadians stuck on ice

When a pair of Canadians got stranded on the ice on Lake St. Clair in southwestern Ontario on Tuesday, an American team with a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter ended up coming to their rescue.

U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Christina Silva says their team, the Dolphin helicopter team, got the call around 3:45 p.m., and the helicopter departed just after 4 p.m.

Flying to the scene and overhead, they sent a member of their team down to the ice via hoist, who lifted both men back to the helicopter one at a time.  

“They were both talking to me pretty well. They knew exactly what was going on. They were just happy just to get picked up and get off that ice floe,” said Edmund Bizorik, the team’s “rescue swimmer” who went down to the ice.

“So once I evaluated them, then we just walked over, took them up in the helicopter and … made sure they were nice and toasty warm in the back of the helicopter.”

In a statement, the U.S. Coast Guard said the individuals were 61 and 65 years old. 

The Coast Guard said they were stranded north of Belle River, a community in the municipality of Lakeshore.

Essex County OPP responded to the report around 2:45 p.m., after which the Coast Guard team was called in. Essex-Windsor EMS and the Lakeshore fire department were also on shore.

Silva said the pair were taken to Windsor airport to meet with emergency medical services to be checked out, before the helicopter team headed back home, but the men were in good health with no injuries.

The team said they get briefed and are prepared for rescues like this at this time of year, when the ice is thinner and the weather is getting warmer. 

“People are still going out, stuff’s getting thinner and it’s gonna happen,” said Benjamin Matuska, the team‘s aviation maintenance technician. “And you know, this is case in point of that.”

They credited both men with being dressed for the weather and having a means of communication to report that they were stuck. 

There’s no financial cost to the stuck men for the rescue, the team confirmed: “It’s not like a one way relationship where the U.S. is only giving to Canada, it’s a co-operation,” said Lt. Connor Riley. 

“So I think had this been a different scenario and there was a Canadian Coast Guard rescue asset near an American, I’m confident that there would be no difference.”

Tyler Burniston is a coxswain with Guardian Marine Rescue, a volunteer unit of the Canadian Coast Guard auxiliary that assists in rescues, though was not involved in this case.

Burniston said this time of year can be challenging for marine rescue teams.

“At this time of year, with the ice on the water, marine search and rescue assets are fairly limited on what we’re able to provide,” Burniston said. “Both of our boats are currently out of the water, Coast Guard full time search and rescue is out of the water and the bigger ships like the ice breakers and those kinds of things are potentially a long way out from getting there.

“So when it’s time to do a rescue on the water this time of year … air assets are normally going to be one of the main assets used in those types of rescues.”

As for the ATV the men were on — “We actually saw it today on our flight back,” said Silva.

“So we had a flight this morning and we saw a couple of gentlemen out there, I think trying to figure out, themselves, how they were going to get it back. 

“As long as it doesn’t become a second case. And regardless if it is, we’re standing the ready.”