Cheboygan County sheriff presents Citizen Life Saving awards
CHEBOYGAN — Cheboygan County Sheriff Tim Cook presented six Citizen Life Saving awards on May 9 during the Cheboygan County Board of Commissioners meeting.
The honorees include a group of fishermen who saved the lives of two snowmobilers who went through the ice of Burt Lake on Feb. 25.
“Today I would like to recognize six individuals who risked their lives to save two others,” said Cook.
Cook said the incident originated when two individuals from Harbor Springs went out on Burt Lake on a snowmobile on the morning of Feb. 25. The temperature was 12 degrees. The two men were riding south of the Maple Bay area near Crooked River when their snowmobile broke through the ice and they entered the frigid water.
More: Ice fishermen rescue two snowmobilers from Burt Lake
The two men, Timothy Goldsmith and Bryan Hibbler, spoke to the board about their rescue. They were emotional as they described the moments when they thought they were going to die.
“The ice broke like a pane of glass and the snowmobile sank. We could not get out of the water,” Hibbler said.
“We started yelling for help and fortunately we were heard, I had my rescue rope and ice claws stored in the machine and could not use them,” Goldsmith added.
Hibbler said they were in the water for 20-30 minutes.
“I did not want to drown. I thought of what I would miss; my family, birthday parties, my kids’ weddings. The stars lined up, there was no wind, and our rescuers heard us from a mile away,” he said. “I was barely able to get the strap around me as my hands had cramped up and I could not open them. I thought it was over as I remember my head starting to go under the water.”
Both men said their rescuers were heroes and they are thankful every day for being alive.
Cook thanked them for sharing their story.
“I felt they should tell it,” he said. “You can see in them how thankful they are to have been saved.”
One of the rescuers, Brian Wallace, also spoke to the board about the rescue. Wallace is a fireman with the Topinabee Fire Department who happened to be out that morning to ice fish. He described how six strangers came together after hearing cries for help and were able to pull the two men from the water.
“When I got to where they had broken through, Bryan was out of the water but Tim was still in the water,” Wallace said. “We were able to get them out with a strap that one of the rescuers had. It took all of us pulling on that strap.”
Wallace noted that the ice was fragile and cracking, and he thought they all were going to end up in the water.
The rescued men were rushed to shore on snowmobiles to the Maple Bay DNR access, where sheriff deputies assisted EMS with removing their wet clothes and getting the warming process started. EMS then transported them to McLaren Northern Michigan hospital in Petoskey.
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Along with Wallace, the other rescuers in attendance were Luke Hubbard from Trufant, Michigan, his brother Timothy Hubbard from Pierson, Michigan, Joseph Smith of Muskegon, and Kyle Krupp from Lainsburg, Michigan. The sixth rescuer, Zachary Beach of Durand, Michigan, was unable to attend.
Undersheriff Josh Ginop read aloud the wording of the plaques as the rescuers stood in front of the board. Cook then presented each with the Civilian Life Saving Award plaque.
Fire Chief Mike English of the Topinabee Fire Department also presented the firefighters Medal of Honor for Gallantry to Wallace.
All of the men received a standing ovation from the board of commissioners and the audience members.
Goldsmith noted that he now wears an ice fishing flotation jacket and urged people to be prepared when out on the ice.
This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Cheboygan County sheriff presents Citizen Life Saving awards
