Here is the article fromt the paper.
ATV PLUNGES THROUGH ICE
21-year-old man killed; another angler escapes serious injury
By MATT ERICKSON
Staff Writer
A rural Brainerd man, out for a day of fishing Sunday on Round Lake north of Brainerd (MAP), died after his four-wheeler broke through the ice and plunged into 19 feet of water.
The name of the victim wasn’t released by the Crow Wing County Sheriff’s Department Sunday afternoon. Family members Sunday night confirmed the victim was 21-year-old Tyler Magnan, who lived in Unorganized Territory north of Brainerd.
“He was just a downright good kid,” said Magnan’s mother, Monique. “He will be so missed.”
A second man, whose name wasn’t released but was a friend of Magnan’s, also went through the ice on his ATV but was able to pull himself out of the lake, the Crow Wing County Sheriff’s Department said. The two men were part of a larger group fishing and riding ATVs on the lake. Magnan and his friend were driving side by side when they broke through the ice several hundred yards from shore.
Nancy Vogt, the Magnan family’s neighbor and close family friend of 14 years, spent time with the Magnan family Sunday night after learning of Tyler Magnan’s death.
“They’re just numb and in shock,” said Vogt, a former Dispatch staff member who now is editor of the Lake Country Echo in Pequot Lakes. Vogt said Tyler Magnan lived for fishing in both summer and winter and knew Round Lake well.
Magnan and his friend had worked together at S & W Bait and Tackle near his home on Highway 371. S & W owner Sherree Wicktor, a friend of Magnan’s family, said Tyler Magnan had an ice fishing house on Round Lake and both men were very familiar with the lake. She said they had checked ice thickness in several spots and on Sunday they simply used bad judgment in driving on that spot.
“It’s just a reality, you have to be careful on the ice because you never know,” Wicktor said. “These boys were not naive, they were not stupid. They knew about the ice and they knew how much ice they had out to their (ice) house.”
Wicktor said reports of ice thickness on lakes throughout the Brainerd area were between 3 to 8 inches, and the men had 8 inches of ice from shore to their ice house. She said she also heard the ice was 8 inches thick around the area where the men broke through the ice. The area where they broke through the ice was about a quarter-inch thick, authorities said.
“You have to respect the ice, be scared of it all the time, take it seriously,” Wicktor said.
Monique Magnan said her son loved the outdoors, especially hunting and fishing.
“He had been fishing for as long as he could hold a rod,” Monique Magnan said. “It’s not many people that get to find their passion. It was clear with him. It was kind of contagious because he got other people to fish who normally wouldn’t.”
About 11:30 a.m. Sunday dozens of emergency personnel from several area agencies responded to the Round Lake public access off Highway 371 after it was reported the men had broke through the ice. By 12:19 p.m., Crow Wing County Dive Team members found Magnan near his four-wheeler in 19 feet of water, said Assistant Brainerd Fire Chief Kevin Stunek.
Traffic was blocked on Highway 371 for about a mile in each direction as Magnan was carried from Round Lake to a North Ambulance helicopter, which launched from the highway. He was pronounced dead at St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Brainerd.
Though freezing temperatures had been prevalent in the Brainerd area for the past week leading up to Friday – when temperatures reached the 30s – Stunek said caution still must be taken when venturing out on the ice.
“The ice isn’t safe yet. People need be aware of that,” Stunek said.
Crow Wing County Sheriff’s Sgt. Phil Stoll, the county’s boat and water supervisor, said two days ago the area where the men had broke through the ice was open water. He said on Sunday there was perhaps a quarter inch of ice at the spot.
“It was just glazed over,” Stoll said.
The DNR recommends at least 4 inches of ice for walking, at least 5 inches for snowmobiles and ATVs and 8-12 inches for cars or small trucks. Stoll said anyone venturing out onto the ice should wear a life jacket under their coat, carry ice picks and use a chisel to test the ice as they proceed. The DNR also recommends checking with local bait shops or resorts for known thin ice areas.
But even in taking precautions, Stoll is quick to note that ice is never 100 percent safe.
“If you don’t have to be out there, don’t take the chance,” Stoll said.
Assisting the sheriff’s department were the Crow Wing County Dive Team, Brainerd Fire and Rescue with a hovercraft and other water rescue craft, the Nisswa Fire Department, the DNR, the State Patrol with a helicopter, the Pequot Lakes and Nisswa police departments, area first responders and North Ambulance.
cheers