Rexburg, Idaho • Authorities are warning snowmobilers to stay off the ice at eastern Idaho's Island Park Reservoir after two snowmobilers became stranded when their machine broke through the ice.
The Rexburg Standard Journal reports a 32-year-old man and a 24-year-old woman from Idaho Falls were riding their snowmobile from a cabin near Shotgun to Lakeside Lodge when the accident happened Thursday night. The ice broke underneath them, sinking their sled into the reservoir. They were able to make it to the bank, where they called the Fremont County Sheriff's Office for help.
Search and rescue team members said several cornices hanging over the bank broke as they made their way to the couple. The man and woman were rescued, and released after being examined by emergency medical workers.
Fremont Search and Rescue secretary Eric Thomas says warm weather has thinned the ice, but new snow is covering the slushy areas. He says neither the reservoir nor the beach are stable enough for snowmobiles because of the thin ice and dangerous cornices.