A Loogootee man died Friday after falling through the ice while fishing in Daviess County.
55-year old Roger Williams was pronounced dead at the scene near Cannelburg after fire officials were able to bring him back to shore after the accident, which was called in to the Daviess County Sheriff’s Office around 7 pm.
Indiana Conservation Officers reported the ice thickness at the time of the incident was approximately two inches where Williams went into the water. He had not been in contact with anyone for several hours before he was found and was not wearing any type of personal floatation device.
Agencies responding to the incident included the Daviess County Sheriff’s Office, Indiana Conservation Officers, South East Fire District, Washington Township Fire Department, Southwest Medical and the Daviess County Coroner’s Office.
Department of Natural Resource officials say no ice is safe ice, and when in doubt, don’t go out.
Guidlines offered by DNR officials say:
One inch of ice people should stay off
Four inches of ice is needed to support the weight
of a person
Five inches of ice is needed to support the weight of a snowmobile or ATV
And eight inches of ice is needed to support a medium weight truck.
For more information on ice safety visit in.gov/dnr/fishwild.
