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Grosse Ile police said Sunday three teens had to be rescued after their boat became stuck in ice in the Detroit River.
Police said the male teens were duck hunting in the Trenton Channel, near the south end of Grosse Ile, just after 1:30 p.m. when their motor failed.
Grosse Ile Township Supervisor Brian Loftus said he saw teens’ rescue from his home window.
“They tried to get to shore. They pulled their boat up on the outermost shell of ice, which was strong enough to support them, but they couldn’t get any closer to shore from there,” Loftus said. “It would have been life threatening for them.”
Police said one of the teens called 911.
“They were going to attempt to walk it across the ice and then put it back in the water, and row, and then back on the ice again -- which is a very dangerous situation,” said Grosse Ile Fire Chief Duncan Murdock.
Murdock said the teens were told to stay where they were and that the department’s recently acquired air boat was dispatched to get them.
The boat’s design allows it to travel on top of the ice. It cost the department just over $250,000.
The teens were not hurt.
They were taken back to the fire station, where, Murdock said, they would be given a talk about boating safety and using flotation devices.
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