Two men said an intoxicated man who wandered onto the Marina Park ice spread his arms out and looked like magician Criss Angel.
Gord Lazaruk and Dan Woodz came down to Marina Park to look at the scenery when they spotted a man out on the ice Sunday. They called for help at about 2:30 p.m. and in a few minutes police, paramedics and fire crews arrived to assist.
Woodz recently came back to Thunder Bay after working construction jobs for 20 years in Surrey, B.C.
"I just came home and this is what I see," Woodz said. "He would yell out 'you got any beer.' He fell down a bunch of times. You could hear him screaming and he slurred (his words)."
Woodz said the man appeared to be intoxicated.
Thunder Bay Fire Service members Matt Lamarche and Martin Hynna suited up in thermal wetsuits and went to retrieve the man. A crowd formed on the path to watch as Lamarche and Hynna walked closer to the man. After 10 minutes, they were able to bring the man back to shore.
Thunder Bay Police Service officers appeared familiar with the man and even called him by name just before they arrested him.
Kim Hutch, platoon chief with Thunder Bay Fire Services, said people walking onto the ice is becoming a common occurrence.
"This time of year there are a lot of frozen water ways that people think are safe," Hutch said. "Because of the warm weather conditions the ice is very unstable. Nobody should be out on the ice."
Hutch said at the moment, the ice on Lake Superior appears stable. He added that the man only had to walk to an area with air bubbles to possibly fall through the ice.
He said the man looked to be in his 20s or 30s.
