Sherburne County Sheriff Warns Of Dangers Of Thin Ice

ELK RIVER - Despite our recent stretch of cold weather, you're still being advised to be careful on the areas frozen lakes.

Sherburne County Sheriff Joel Brott says two recreational vehicles have broken through the ice on Big Elk Lake in the past nine days.

A snowmobile broke through and sank in shallow water on the north end of the lake on Saturday, December 7th.  The driver was able to stand on the seat until help arrived.

Also, on Monday, an ATV broke through the ice and sank in about eight feet of water.  The driver was not hurt.  The area where both vehicles went through is near the channel between Briggs Lake and Big Elk Lake.

In both cases, the drivers were not wearing life vests, and they did not have a set of ice picks.