Anglers save snowmobiler who fell through ice on Jamestown Reservoir
Jan. 8—JAMESTOWN — Two anglers saved a snowmobiler who went through the ice on Jamestown Reservoir on Monday, Jan. 8, about 4 to 5 miles from here, according to Stutsman County Sheriff Chad Kaiser.
Cody Deese, 31 or 32, Jamestown, was operating a snowmobile on the Jamestown Reservoir and broke through thin ice at about 12:15 p.m. Monday, Kaiser said.
Skylar Schmeichel, Jamestown, and Shane Weiss, Wimbledon, North Dakota, were fishing and heard a snowmobile and the ice cracking. They saw someone swimming and yelling in the distance, called 911 and ran to Deese, Kaiser said.
Kaiser said Schmeichel and Weiss helped Deese by tying their jackets together as a rope while one belly crawled and threw the makeshift rope to him. The other grabbed the legs of the individual who was belly crawling, and the two pulled Deese as he kept falling through thin ice. Kaiser said the two anglers were able to get Deese to thicker ice where they grabbed him and pulled him out of the water.
Deese made it to shore where he was taken by Jamestown Area Ambulance to Jamestown Regional Medical Center where Deese declined care and left, Kaiser said.
The Stutsman County Dive Team and the North Dakota Highway Patrol also responded to the scene.
