Park Rapids man plunges through ice on river, dies

I first started at the Bemidji (Minn.) Pioneer as an intern in the summer of 1996. That would begin six years as a news reporter, sports reporter and copy editor for a small, six-day-per-week daily newspaper in northern Minnesota. I wrote a large range of stories from multiple beats, to features to sports, my favorite being the coverage of the Red Lake Reservation High School basketball team named the Warriors. Here is a collection of my stories from my time at the Pioneer.

Dec. 18, 1999

By Devlyn Brooks

A 39-year-old Park Rapids man plunged through the ice on a river north of Park Rapids early Friday morning and died, according to Hubbard County law enforcement officials.

Lonnie Dudley fell through about 1.5 inches of ice about 3 a.m. Friday on the Fish Hook River north of Park Rapids along Minnesota Highway 34, according to a joint statement issued by the Hubbard County Sheriff's Department and Park Rapids Police Department.

Immediate attempts to rescue him were unsuccessful and Dudley's body was finally pulled from the water about 8:30 a.m. the same morning.

According to law enforcement officials, the Hubbard County Law Enforcement Center received a call at about 3 a.m. from a witness reporting they had seen someone had fallen through the ice on the river.

Officers from the Park Rapids Police Department and Hubbard County Sheriff's Department responded to the scene, where they talked with the witness. the witness said he saw a man calling for help in the water and then go under.

In subzero temperatures, the Park Rapids Fire Department attempted a rescue with cold water rescue suits but was unable to find the victim due to darkness in the water.

The Becker County Dive Team was called to assist and arrived at the scene about 5 a.m., according to officials. The team attempted to locate the victim with an underwater camera but was unsuccessful.

The officials then decided to call of the search until daybreak.

Rescue divers said the ice was about 1.5 inches thick where Dudley fell through, and the water was bout 15 feet deep. The water temperature was estimated to be 34 degrees, and the air temperature about minus 6 degrees.

About 7:55 a.m., the dive team resumed their search, and the body was recovered about 35 minutes later.