Ranger recovery

At approximately 11 a.m. Saturday, February 3, a male visiting from Colorado fell through the ice on the north shore of Keyhole Reservoir. District Lieutenant Brad Purcell, who was in charge of the situation, explained that while the ice in the center of the lake is still resting at a depth of approximately 14 inches, the ice along the shoreline is much less safe due to the warmth radiating from rocks into the water.

Apparently, unaware of this danger, Kannon Parks, who enjoys ice fishing in the reservoir several times a year, drove his Ranger UTV within yards of the cliff face and across a pressure ridge, causing the machine to sink.

Purcell said, "It's always a bad place this time of year... and, in combination with crossing a pressure ridge right there, it's just a weak spot."

Parks was able to swim to shore as the machine sank, tether the Ranger to a boulder and call for help. The side-by-side was in the lake for more than a week, about half submerged.

The Bureau of Reclamation is responsible for the reservoir and has the authority to charge those who do not immediately remove vehicles that fall beneath the waves for the bureau removing the item.

However, in this particular instance, according to Purcell, "Right now, they are not; [the driver] reported it immediately, the EMTs checked him out and he was fine – not hurt or inebriated so as long as they have some course of action that they will do, the bureau and the state doesn't charge for that - as long as they do something."

Casper recovery agency Western Dive Unlimited was hired to pull the machine from the water but was unable to float the UTV across the unstable ice to the secure shore so they hooked a cable onto the already extended winchline and brought the vehicle to rest between two rocks. There the Ranger will rest until spring, when the divers will return to finish the recovery maneuver.