FOND DU LAC COUNTY (WITI) -- Fond du Lac County Sheriff's officials say five people had to be rescued after they became stranded on ice on Lake Winnebago on Sunday, December 7th.
Around 11:30 a.m., the Fond du Lac County Communications Center received a call for help from five ice fishermen who were stranded on Lake Winnebago approximately one-half mile out from the Village of Pipe. The subjects, who ranged in age from 16 to 20 advised they became stranded when the wind switched and opened up a crack in the ice they were unable to cross.
The Fond du Lac County Sheriff's Office's Dive Team was dispatched to the scene. Using the Sheriff's Office's Amphibious Rescue Craft, all five individuals were safely rescued, along with their personal fishing gear.
Sheriff's officials say the crack in the ice that had stranded the individuals had opened to approximately 50 yards wide, and the ice around it had also become unstable.
The Sheriff's Office says: