DELTA COUNTY, Mich. (WZMQ) – On Sunday, February 25, a South Carolina man died after a group of snowmobiles went through the ice approximately one mile off of the Days River.
According to a Delta County Sheriff’s Office Facebook post, at 8:43 p.m., dispatch received a call of multiple subjects who had gone through the ice on snowmobiles. There were a total of six subjects, four of which were in the water. The subjects that did not fall into the water pulled several of the others out.
First responders were able to rescue the others in the water, but one was unresponsive. Life-saving measures were administered on scene, and the individual was taken to OSF St. Francis Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased. The victim was identified as 44-year-old James Massey Jr. from South Carolina. The other three subjects were treated and released from OSF. The
The rescue was a joint effort between the following entities: Delta County Sheriff’s Office, Delta County Search and Rescue, Delta County Dive Team, Delta County Central Dispatch, Gladstone Public Safety, Ensign Twp Fire Department, Masonville Twp Fire Department, Rampart EMS, and the Michigan State Police.
Above is a photo of the area where the rescue took place, as well as the route first responders took. Officials urge extra caution in the circled yellow area due to broken-up ice from the airboat.
The Delta County Sheriff’s Office had responded to another ice rescue on Little Bay de Noc the day before. At 6:25 a.m. on Saturday, dispatch received a call that a four-wheeler had gone through the ice, leaving two subjects in the water. Both subjects were able to get themselves out of the water and back to shore, where they denied medical treatment.
