FRONTENAC — A Frontenac couple escaped from their pickup Saturday night after it fell through ice on Lake Pepin. The vehicle remains submerged in 20 feet of water.
Goodhue County sheriff's deputy Scott Powers noticed open water on the main channel and vehicle tracks leading to it when he stopped at the Frontenac State Park observation deck to check on fishing and vehicle activity near Point-No-Point on Lake Pepin, according to a statement released Wednesday by the sheriff's office.
Powers and another deputy checked the area with an airboat. They saw two sets of footprints near the open water. Using an underwater camera, they saw a pickup at the bottom of the lake but couldn't read the license plate number.
About the same time, the Goodhue County dispatcher received a call from the vehicle's owner, 53-year-old Daniel Wurst. He confirmed that the vehicle went through the ice between 9:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. Saturday.
Wurst and his wife, Helen, got out of the truck before it sank. They walked to their residence in Frontenac.
