SEARSMONT, Maine — Two men were rescued Sunday after falling through the ice while riding a side-by-side UTV in Searsmont.
Around 10:30 a.m. Sunday, the two men were driving a Can-Am 1000 UTV on the ice on Bartlett Stream in the area of 191 Belfast Augusta Road when they broke through the ice, a news release from the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife said Monday.
The men reportedly snowmobiled over the same area two days earlier, according to the release.
"The operator immediately called a friend who was ice fishing nearby, who rushed to the scene, and then called his former wife who then called 911," MDIFW said in the release.
Maine Game Warden Cpl. Chris Dyer was reportedly on his way to a snowmobile crash in Palermo but rerouted to respond to the Searsmont incident, the release said.
At 10:50 a.m., Dyer arrived at the scene to find the two men standing on top of the UTV, waist-deep in the water, MDIFW said.
Shortly after, Waldo County Deputy Travis Spencer arrived at the scene and assisted Dyer in throwing a lifejacket and rope to the two men. Spencer and Dyer then pulled the two men from the UTV through the water to safety, according to the release.
MDIFW said the two men spent over 30 minutes in the water and were hypothermic as a result.
Emergency personnel with the Searsmont Fire Department treated the men at the scene, and the two were able to go home after treatment, according to the release Monday.
Lang Family Recovery of Lincolnville removed the UTV from the stream later that day, the release said.
“Ice conditions can change quickly, particularly on waters where there is any type of current,” Dyer said in the release. “Be careful and check the ice before venturing out onto the ice.”