A 34-year-old north-central Minnesota man died early Monday after the snowmobile he was operating fell through the ice on Serpent Lake in Crosby.
Authorities received a call about 5:30 a.m. after a Crosby police officer walked out of the police station and heard someone screaming for help, Sgt. D.J. Downie of the Crow Wing County Sheriff’s Office’s Boat and Water Division said. The officer looked across the lake, saw something shimmering and thought someone could be in water. Crosby Fire Chief Jay DeCent was called and he also could hear the screaming for help.
Downie said the officer and the fire chief couldn’t see anything, so they went to a different part of the lake. Downie said they no longer could hear the screams, but a snowmobile helmet was found on the ice. Snowmobile tracks also were found indicating the machine went through the water.