READFIELD — Harley Rines got his all-terrain vehicle back Tuesday, more than a week after it broke through the ice on Torsey Pond and he was left stranded on an island waiting for help.
“It’s in great shape,” Rines said of his tracked four-wheeler. “From what they told me, they should be able to dry it out and change the fluids, and it should be fine.”
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Rines, 50, who lives on North Road, last saw the Yamaha 700 Grizzly around noon on March 17 when he was heading back from an ice fishing trip broke through the ice.
“I was in the water,” Rines said. “It was over my head, but luckily I got on the ice and got out of there.”
Rines made his way to a marshy island about 25 feet away and called for help. Game wardens showed up about two hours later.
“It’s good it was nice out,” he said. “I was soaking wet.”
It was sunny and in the mid 50s that day as Rines headed out the door. He checked the ice on the way out and was reassured when he found about one foot of ice remaining despite the streak of warm weather. He knew the ice on other sections of the lake were starting to deteriorate.
“I realized the ice up-lake wasn’t as good as I thought,” he said.
Rines decided to head off the ice on a different track, which is about 200 yards away from the one he used earlier to head onto the ice.
“I ice fish all the time and I am usually pretty safe,” Rines said. “I thought I knew what I was doing. It seemed like the ice was all right, but I went through.”
Rines launched himself off the sinking four-wheeler in hopes of landing on solid ice, but he ended up in the water, which was about eight feet deep where he went in. He tried to wiggle his way onto the ice, but the edge gave way. Rines’ second attempt was more successful — he made his way onto the ice and was able to scramble to a marshy island.
Rines estimates he was in the water for less than a minute, but that was long enough to leave a chilly impression.
“It’s just how you would imagine it,” he said. “It was cold and scary.”
Rines said he was happy to see the signal bars on his cellphone, which still worked even though it was soaking wet.
He tried to call his wife, but couldn’t reach her. He then called 911 and was told to stay put until game wardens could arrive with an air boat.
David Sinclair and his son, Matt Sinclair, who own Sea Ventures Charters, dove down to the four-wheeler Tuesday and raised it to the surface using floating lift bags.
“It was fairly shallow, but it was 360 feet from shore,” David Sinclair said.
The Sinclairs salvaged three snowmobiles this year before pulling Rines’ four-wheeler from the water. David Sinclair said outdoor enthusiasts have been much more careful around the ice this year because of unusually warm weather, which peaked in the 80s last week.
“Because the ice was so poor this year we didn’t end up doing any motor vehicles,” he said.
David Sinclair said only one incident involved a fatality: The body of Dixfield resident Joey Mann was pulled from the Androscoggin River in Turner last month.
Rines is thankful the Sinclairs only had to pull his four-wheeler from the pond.
“Right after that happened the ice went out really quick,” he said. “It was a weird year. The ice was never as solid as usual and I underestimated it.”
Craig Crosby — 621-5642
ccrosby@centralmaine.com
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