For the police officer, the man’s body language was the giveaway. His combative stance and his abrupt hand movement hinted at the possibility of danger.A Fort Wayne man was pulled from Jimmerson Lake Tuesday night after driving a snowmobile into the Steuben County lake, state conservation officers said.
Matthew Wagoner, 46, was driving a snowmobile near the north side of Jimmerson Lake with two other friends when he drove onto the ice of the lake to check for a safe area to ride. As he drove west along the northern shore he approached an area of open water and drove into the lake, according to the Department of Natural Resources.
Wagoner's fellow riders who watched from shore ran out onto the ice with rope to rescue Wagoner. He was able to break the thinner ice to get to a place where he could stand and was then pulled onto the ice by the fellow riders, the DNR said.
Emergency personnel were able to pull Wagoner across the ice to shore. He was transported to Parkview Regional Medical Center in Fort Wayne by Steuben County EMS. He was treated for mild hypothermia and released, the DNR said.
Indiana conservation officers are investigating the accident. Also assisting were Steuben County EMS, Angola, Orland and Fremont fire departments and Steuben County Sheriff's Department.
