ESCANABA, MI— One person drowned when their side-by-side broke through ice on the Escanaba River Saturday.
Deputies from the Delta County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched around 7:10 a.m. to an area near the power plant. They say Joe Demeuse, 65, of Gladstone and a passenger were riding on the ice when they fell into the river. Officials believe they either hit a pressure crack or an area of open water that had refrozen with a thin layer of ice.
Anglers who were on the ice pulled the passenger from the water. The passenger was wearing a flotation suit, but Demeuse wasn’t.
The Sheriff’s Office Dive team arrived a short time later and recovered Demeuse’s body.
The passenger was taken to the hospital for evaluation.
