Thanks to
their Hovertechnics rescue hovercraft, the Alger County Sheriff’s Department was
able to save the lives of a doe and her fawn that had fallen through – and were
stranded on - the thin ice on Lake Superior in Munising, Michigan.
The deer
were unable to stand or walk due to the fragile ice. “They were exhausted when we got out there,” said Undersheriff Steve
Blank, “Had we not gone out there, there
were some predators waiting, too. We had a couple of people, including the
retired sheriff, who saw a couple of coyotes. But when the hovercraft went
over, they ran back.”
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The Alger County Sheriff’s
Hovertechnics hovercraft easily crossed broken, thin ice to hover right up to
the deer. Photo by Missy Mannisto.
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After
getting the deer back to shore, heating packs were used to warm the deer. Blank
said the fawn wasn’t doing as well as the doe at first, but they both were soon
able to retreat back into the woods.
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Safely on
shore, the deer are warmed after their ordeal in icy water. Photo by Alger
County Sheriff’s Office
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Alger
County purchased their 4-passenger 21-foot Hovertechnics hovercraft six
years ago, and it has significantly improved the department’s rescue
operations. “I’d say we use it once every
two weeks,” Undersheriff Blank reports, “It’s a great, great tool, especially for a department that lives on the
water. We have so many people who utilize the waters around here, and we assist
other departments with it, too.”
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Left
to right: Trooper Jeff Seaberg, DNR Officer Mark Zitnik, Deputy Ted Woodaz,
Det/Lt. Matthew Waldron, and David Mannisto pose in front of the
Alger County Sheriff's Office hovercraft after completing a rescue mission of two deer in Alger County, MI. Photo by Missy Mannisto |
On the
same weekend as the deer rescue, Alger County’s hovercraft was used a second
time to transport workers out to Grand Island to repair a utility line that had
fallen on a trail.
