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ANTELOPE ISLAND — Crews rescued a man who fell through the ice near Antelope Island Monday morning.
Three friends were duck hunting when one of them, Ray Lewis, 20, from Clearfield, fell through the ice, Utah State Parks Lt. Eric Stucki said. The group was 100 yards away from the causeway bridge connecting Antelope Island to the mainland.
The man's two friends ran back to the road where they found Utah State Parks Ranger Chris Quatrale, who was on patrol. The ranger called the Davis County Sheriff's Office around 8 a.m. Monday to report that a man had fallen through the ice.
Search and rescue, sheriff's deputies and an ambulance were on their way but the responding ranger was able to pull the man out of the water "back to safety" using a rope and a personal floatation device, according Stucki.
Emergency personnel from the Davis County Sheriff's Office and Syracuse Fire Department assessed the man's condition on the scene, Utah State Parks spokesman Eugene Swalberg said in a statement. The man was taken to a local hospital to be treated for hypothermia. Stucki was not sure how long the man had been in the water before he was pulled out.
"He should be quite well. He's just quite hypothermic being in the cold water and then the colder day today that it is," Stucki said.
One thing the man did right was that he was with friends Monday, Stucki said. Poulsen said this is one precaution people need to take when they head outdoors.
"You take a great risk when you are out by yourself. If there wasn't someone else to help him or to alert the park ranger, this may have been a different story," Poulsen said.
"We're grateful. We always like these kind of endings, especially right before Christmas," Poulsen said.
Ice conditions in Utah are always changing, Stucki said, because the water in Utah is constantly moving. For this reason, he said, those who go out on the ice should use caution and carry bring ropes and personal floatation devices.
Contributing: Angelique Reed
Video Contributor: Anne Forester
