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Coast Guard rescues man trying to walk across frozen lake

By Danielle Haynes
U.S. Coast Guard members rescue a man attempting to walk from Detroit to Toronto by crossing the frozen Lake St. Clair. Photo courtesy the U.S. Coast Guard
1 of 3 | U.S. Coast Guard members rescue a man attempting to walk from Detroit to Toronto by crossing the frozen Lake St. Clair. Photo courtesy the U.S. Coast Guard

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ALGONAC, Mich., March 6 (UPI) -- The U.S. Coast Guard rescued a man in the middle of frozen Lake St. Clair on Thursday as he attempted to walk from Detroit to Toronto.

Members of the Coast Guard 9th District on board the ice breaker Cutter Neah Bay spotted the 25-year-old man at about 9:30 a.m. walking in the middle of the frozen lake.

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The man, whose name wasn't reported, was about one and a half miles from Seaway Island in the northern part of the lake. Lt. Joshua Zike told the Detroit Free Press the man told his rescuers he had left Detroit the day before and had slept overnight in the Crib Lighthouse.

Once petty officers Ethan Fryar and Scott Sjostrom reached the man they determined he was in the beginning stages of hypothermia.

"It took him a long time to formulate his thoughts," Zike said.

The man had a backpack with food, water and sleeping supplies, but he wasn't dressed properly for the temperature. He had no form of communication nor a floatation device.

"If he would have been out there for hours longer he would have been in bad shape," Sjostrom said.

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"He's lucky we were where we were because if he would have gone through the ice or gotten lost, there was no one out there to find him."

The man, who is an American citizen, was brought ashore in Algonac where he was treated by paramedics.

It wasn't clear why the man wanted to travel to Toronto.

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