Dec. 21. 2020 5:50p
(WGTD)---A Kenosha County Sheriff's Deputy who rescued an ice fisherman who'd fallen in knew that every second counted. As a kid growing up on a lake, Deputy Colin Coultrip had broken through thin ice himself.
Speaking to reporters the day after the rescue, Coultrip recounted how he saw the 57-year-old fisherman floundering in Hooker Lake about 75 yards from shore at dusk on Sunday.
Told by neighbors that the man had been in the water for a time, Coultrip and other deputies on scene knew that they couldn't wait for emergency responders with cold water rescue gear. "When it's this cold, every minute will actually feel like 10," he said.
Coultrip spotted a canoe at a nearby home, grabbed it and started to push it over the ice. Coming within feet of the man, both Coultrip and the canoe crashed through in about six feet of water.
While Coultrip was able to lift himself into the canoe, the exhausted and panicked fisherman couldn't. To gain leverage, Coultrip actually stood up in the canoe and pulled the man in, all the while keeping his balance.
The herculean effort wasn't the end of the drama.
For whatever reason, the man tried to stand up, capsizing the canoe, and sending both men into the water a second time.
Coultrip was able to swim over to the thin sheet of ice and pull himself up. He then successfully coached the man on how to self-rescue by having him spread his arms on the ice and then kick as hard as he could to maneuver his body onto the ice shelf.
By then, properly-outfitted rescue personnel took over and got both men back to shore.
The victim was taken to the hospital, where a full recovery was expected.
Coultrip says he took a hot shower, changed into a dry uniform and went back on the road to finish his shift.
Kenosha County Sheriff's Dept. Lt. Erick Klinkhammer, who introduced Coultrip to members of the media, said the department is extremely proud of Coultrip, a five-year veteran of the force. "He risked his life," Klinkhammer said. "It's an opportunity that our profession doesn't get that often but we always step up to the task."
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