GREENVILLE, Maine — A local man looking to get one last snowmobile run on Moosehead Lake broke through the ice Thursday evening.
Isiah Gray, 23, of Greenville Junction said he was making a turn near the Black Frog Inn and Restaurant at 7 p.m. Thursday when the ice gave way.
“There just wasn’t enough ice and it just started to go through. It was too late to get any leverage. It went straight down,” said Gray on Friday.
Gray said he swam for about 150 yards trying to get to land.
“Half was water and half was ice that kept breaking. The guys from the Black Frog helped me at the dock. They sent me a log and got me out,” said Gray. “I was in the there for 2½ minutes and my muscles started locking up [in the freezing water].”
“He was lucky he was right near the shore and able to get out unscathed and unharmed,” said Game Warden Paul Mason.
“It’s good it happened where it happened. If it happened in the middle of the lake by myself, it wouldn’t have been that great,” said Gray.
Gray’s Ski-Doo mxz 600 was recovered from 25 feet of water on Friday afternoon. Gray said the engine will need to be rebuilt, but the rest of it is fine.
“I’m thankful for the guys at the Frog and everyone who helped get it out of the water by the Katahdin [touring boat],” said Gray.
Mason warned that the warm week has severely weakened ice all around the state.
“With the last two days of the warm weather we’ve had, [the ice is] not well at all,” he said. “A lot of the little ponds have loosened up around the edges. As far as Moosehead [Lake] goes, all the [known] trouble spots have started to open up. The ice has all turned black. It won’t be long before ice-out.”
Riders should do their homework before trying to get one last ride with a snowmobile this weekend, he said.
“I would caution anyone going out on any ice right now,” said Mason. “It’s really treacherous right now. I would caution against it unless you know it’s a well iced-up area.”
In very limited defense of this guy, total ice out for Moosehead lake is the middle of May. Seven weeks early just didn’t set in.
And if he doesn’t believe in Global Warming, it’s not his fault. :)
Yeah, the last time it was nearly this warm was in 1936.
Generally, yes. But anyone who thinks ice out will be mid May this year is seriously delusional.
Winnipesaukee in NH set a new record today for the earliest ice out ever.
Moosehead won’t be far behind.
Anyone ever take a dip in water that cold? That he was able to swim for 2 1/2 minutes and 150 yards is somewhere between wicked hah’d and friggin’ amazin’!
He isn’t kidding about the muscle paralysis. And it isn’t like “OHHH this is COLD”, it’s “gasp……oooophh…can’t brea…thhhe…arms not working…(panic setting in)…can’t move legs…can’t get a breath…”
Cold water is not a joke. Boys, put the sleds up for the season…
even when i cross that thing in the dead of winter on a marked crossing, im hammer down,call me crazy .
those 80 degree days are usually a pretty good indication you should stay off the ice…genius.
No reason to go onto ice, ever–in my book.
I can probably make it, but just in case I’ll stay close to shore. Lucky fella is all I can say.
Duh!! Has it been that warm to cause a thaw?
Well snow pond in Oakland is honey comb
I guess snowmobiling on thin ice might become the next Xtreme sport.
Actually, it is.
It’s called skimming
What part of 80 degrees didnt he understand
Well there was still “ice”, just didn’t think about it being thin, it is March after all. The black color of the ice kinda threw me off in more ways than one.
Remember the people who go out on the lakes after the first night it is 20 degrees out? Then we hear these stories then too, and we just hear them after consecutive days of record warmth after an already warm winter.
As Bart would say, DOH….
Not to be picky but I think you mean Homer. Bart’s the cool one, oh so was the kid who went through the ice.
OOPs, I think you are right. But DOH, still applies.
Yep it sure does, one lucky kid, a hard lesson learned, but it was learned I bet
It may be stupid to go on a snowmobile on days where its been very warm and go on a lake, but nobody to deserves to go through that. Maybe sometime you guys will find yourself in this situation, wonder if it will be funny then. If you dont know this guy then dont act like you know that hes dumb, because i assure you he isnt he also wouldnt make fun of you if this happend to one of you. I wonder if you guys have jobs, or if all day you wait for something to come through that you can make fun of. Your all pathetic, and i hope you realize that theres right and wrong and making fun of a kid who made a mistake and almost got his life takin away doing it, is wrong.
I’m glad you posted, I really am.
Now you can read my post and take it with a grain of salt if you want.
Your friend is very, very lucky as are you for not having to bury him.
Use your common sense and very rarely will you end up in this situation. Spread the word about common sense, please, it can be a life saver as your friend very well knows now.
Take the lesson your friend learned the hard way and live to be a 100, I really hope your group of friends have learned something from your friends experience.
Regrets don’t save lives and some times common sense won’t do it, accidents just happen, but your friend was an accident waiting to happen when he decided to go on thin ice.
“A local man looking to get one last snowmobile run on Moosehead Lake”… almost his last wish.
Glad he made it to shore.
I just want to say I have known Isiah since birth. Yes he has made his mistakes, and yes, this was one, but he is a great person and if he likes you would give you the shirt off his back. For all of you that think it is funny and that he is ignorant, maybe you should think back of all the stupid ignorant things you did in your life. No one is perfect and everyone makes mistakes. It is funny how people forget there mistakes and can talk about others. You are only talking about how stupid he is to do this and that but I have to say he was great to my dad when they were lobstering. He would take time out of what he was doing to help my dad so there is more to him then what you know. Before you judge people maybe you should get to know them. Isiah, I am so glad you are safe and don’t let anything these people say bother you because they have just forgotten all there mistakes.
Thank you.. this means alot to me and my family.
Thanks for sticking up for me i apreciate that some of these people are just stupid and have nothing better to do thank u
Surprise! Surprise! Did anyone in the State of Maine think that someone wouldn’t go through the ice somewhere in this state?
There goes my bet on when the ice goes out official at Moosehead (sigh).
Isiah,
Take the high road and just don’t bother to respond to any more of the keyboard heros holding court here. Most of them live in Mom’s basement and get their exercise buy jumping to conclusions and casting their judgement on others. Not a single one of them are as fortunate to have seen or experienced some of the things that I’m sure you have done and witnessed in your life. Forget what these Lords of the Keyboard think and don’t stoop to their level by calling them out.
Make no mistake about it, you are extremely lucky to have the opportunity to be able to learn from the lesson you were just taught. There are too many headstones of too many others who weren’t as fortunate as you were the other day. I’d bet the farm that every single one of them wishes that they could have a “do over”. Learn from it and try to continue to make good choices like you have been and all the rest will fall into place.
D.J.
Comment Nazi sure was busy on this article. Never thought i would see a newspaper practicing censorship. Kind of a way to make sure the comments are agreeing with the agenda they want. Same thing happened in Nazi Germany. Free speech is a thing of the past and being infringed upon by a newspaper, of all businesses.
Wow, I am ashamed of the people that want to act like they have never done anything that was a mistake and in the end wasn’t the best decision. It is snowmobiling…. for GOD’s sake we live in a state that people are in accidents on these machines all of the time but because it happens to be to someone that was enjoying the weather and hoping for a last ride of the season you are jumping down his back. What about the OUI 60 year old men that were riding without helmets at the begining of the month…. don’t see the hate there as I am seeing with this young man. He wasn’t raising hell, he wasn’t doing stunts he was enjoying a last ride in an area that is usually safe…for just that snowmobiling.
As for the haters on here posting things about a young man that has NOTHING to do with the accident that is not right and yes should be edited, slander is a bad thing. I am sure all of you HATERS have done something in your life that was a mistake, we grow up and learn, and all of you are hypocrites! Lets focus on this was an ACCIDENT and the young man is ok, and that is the most important aspect of this whole entire ordeal!
Thank you to those that helped, and thank you to all those that understand the very word accident and let it go as news…. I mean come on people, we need to support mankind, and be there for them, and not cast stones because no one is perfect and no one has the right to judge until you have lived in those shoes! Grow up Mainers that want to hate! Stay strong Isiah, and remember you are young but that isn’t a reason for people to hate all young adults make mistakes. Love, your New Mexico Cuz :)