SEARSMONT — Two men riding a side-by-side UTV broke through the ice in Searsmont yesterday, and were rescued by a Game Warden and a Waldo County Sheriff’s Deputy.

At approximately 10:30 a.m., Feb. 12, two men were driving a Can Am 1000 UTV on the ice on Bartlett Stream near 191 Belfast Augusta Road when they broke through the ice in an area where they snowmobiled over two days earlier, according to a news release from the Maine Dept. of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

The operator immediately called a friend who was ice fishing nearby. That person rushed to the scene,  and then called his former wife, who then called 911, the release said. Game Warden Corporal Chris Dyer was enroute to a snowmobile crash in Palermo but turned around to respond to the emergency.

Dyer arrived on the scene at 10:50, and found the two men standing on top of the ATV, waist deep in the water. Waldo County Deputy Travis Spencer soon arrived on scene, and Dyer and Spencer were able to throw a lifejacket and rope to the pair, and pull them from the ATV through the water and to safety.

The two men spent over 30 minutes in the water, and were hypothermic. Emergency Rescue Personnel from the Searsmont Fire Department treated them on the scene, and they were able to head home after they were treated. The ATV was removed from the stream later that day by Lang Family Recovery of Lincolnville.

“Ice conditions can change quickly, particularly on waters where there is any type of current,” said Game Warden Corporal Chris Dyer. “Be careful and check the ice before venturing out onto the ice.”