Local snowmobiler narrowly escapes death

Searchers from the Tupper Lake and Saranac Lake fire departments and the New York State Police at the staging area at the state boat launch site late Thursday. (Photos by Jim Lanthier)

The SLVFD's new airboat used in the search.

Two local snowmobilers lost their way on the big lake here around midnight in the high winds of Thursday's snowstorm and one had a close brush with death when his sled crashed through the ice on Tupper Lake west of Moody Bridge.

Justin Drayse was reportedly in the frigid water for some time, clinging to the ice, before he was able to get out of the water and was later rescued nearby by emergency crews from Tupper Lake and Saranac Lake.

A second rider snowmobiling with Mr. Drasye, who also lost his way in the storm, was Shawn Fleury.

The Tupper Lake Fire Department and the Tupper Lake Volunteer Emergency and Rescue Squad were called out about 11:30 that there were two snowmobilers missing on the lake and one was in the water there.

Tupper Lake no longer has a dive team so Fire Chief Royce Cole immediately called for help from Long Lake and Saranac Lake Dive Teams and the Saranac Lake team responded, according to reports this week.

According to a report from the Saranac Lake Fire Department this week “the call was initially reported as two snowmobilers through the ice with one person in the water, possibly under the ice shelf and one on top of the ice.” The incident took place during Thursday night's fierce snowstorm.

The Saranac Lake Fire Department responded to the mutual aid call from Tupper Lake with three members of its dive team, three other firemen, two trucks and its airboat. The department's new airboat made its maiden voyage that night.

Also responding to the call was the state police and its dive team.

The Saranac Lake volunteers joined the Tupper Lake firefighters in their search at approximately 12:53 a.m. Friday. Dive team and rescue personnel, working with local firefighters familiar with the lake, worked alongside the airboat and its operator, according to the SLVFD report.

“The first missing snowmobiler (Shawn Fleury) was located approximately 10 minutes later across the lake on an island in a small bay, where he had taken shelter in the storm. He reported to the airboat crew “he last saw the second victim (Drasye) in the water and had last heard him yelling ten minutes earlier,” according the department report. He wasn't able to locate his whereabouts in the storm, however.

Given the new information the search team continued looking for Mr. Drasye and found where his sled had broken through the ice. A few minutes later the searchers found him facedown in the middle of the marsh, unresponsive and suffering from severe hypothermia.

Both riders were transported back to the search party's staging area at the state boat launch where they were treated by the Tupper Lake Rescue Squad and transported to the Adirondack Medical Center for treatment of their injuries.

The airboat's maiden rescue that evening took place exactly five years to the day the Saranac Lake department acquired its first rescue craft- a 2002 Yankee airboat purchased used from the Consensus Fire Department in 2017. Its first trip was February 4 that year when it was instrumental in locating and rescuing an individual who went through the ice on a four-wheeler on Oseetah Lake. The incident also occurred during a blinding snowstorm.

“The new airboat was put to the test and ran through the gauntlet during its maiden search and rescue in Tupper Lake,” said the department release. “This new airboat is specifically designed for search and rescue and hopefully will serve as a tremendous resource for the entire tri-lakes and surrounding regions for years to come.”

Its hull is designed to handle the rigors of ice travel as well as strikes from underwater objects. Rated for five-foot waves, it is designed to effortlessly transition from open water to ice and back again. Its V-hull and contour planning hull is designed for stability on ice, water, snow or slush.