Fisherman rescued after falling through ice at Branched Oak Lake

On Friday, a fisherman went out alone and fell off the boat dock at Branched Oak Lake near the marina.

Raymond’s Volunteer Fire Department received a call just after noon about a man who fell into the water.

Two onlookers helped rescue the man. They say they were nearby at the marina when they heard cries for help.

“I hear help and I’m looking over there and I see a guy waving his arms so we started running over there and we got to him and, I mean, he was holding on for dear life we had to pull him out,” said Joe Brauneis, an eyewitness who helped save the fisherman’s life.

The two Good Samaritans think since the man was fishing nearby on the boat dock, he must have tried to kick through the ice to drop a line into the water.

They don’t know exactly how it happened, but the man lost his balance and fell through the ice.

He was in the frigid, icy water for as long as twenty minutes.

“He thought he was in there for twenty minutes, it would have had to be at least ten because that’s how long I was hear until we came outside,” said Brauneis.

“He said that his muscles were all clenched up he couldn’t really, he had no strength so, thankfully we were able to pull him up onto the dock and get him back inside,” said Mike Bolinger, an eyewitness who helped save the fisherman’s life.

The two witnesses say the man was looking extremely pale and had very little strength.

He could hardly walk, showing an advanced stage of hypothermia.

“I think the takeaway is to be with someone… If we didn’t by chance, happen to walk out the door, I don’t think he was getting out on his own,” said Bolinger.

“It doesn’t happen very often but, that cold water is no joke,” Bolinger added.

Paramedics on the scene told the two witnesses the fisherman should be okay, but they took him to a local hospital for further evaluation.