2 teens rescued from frozen creek

Fourteen-year-old snowmobiler Justin Cowell of Fairbank said he learned one thing from his rescue Monday from the icy waters of Crane Creek: “Don't ride on ice.”

“I don't think there is any such thing as safe ice,” the Wapsie Valley eighth grader said after his snowmobile broke through the ice and left him stranded atop it in the cold, swift waters.

Cowell said he and riding companion Jake Levendusky, 15, also of Fairbank, suffered no ill effects from the incident, which happened about 4:30 p.m. Monday south of Bennington Road.

Dunkerton Fire and Rescue crews used a boat to remove the teens from their perilous situation, and their waterlogged machines were later towed from the rain-swollen creek.

Cowell said the creek, topped by a thin layer of snow-covered ice, did not look as dangerous as it was.

Two friends riding with Cowell and Levendusky had already safely crossed the creek when their machines fell through, Cowell said.

The trail is maintained by the Dewar Snowmobile club, which had posted signs warning against its use after another snowmobiler got stuck in the same area Sunday night.