Woman describes terrifying escape after truck falls through Moosehead Lake ice

By Susan Bard, Bangor Daily News Outdoors Editor

A woman escaped unharmed early Sunday morning, March 15 after a truck broke through the ice about 150 yards from the Rockwood boat launch on Moosehead Lake.

Leanne Tapley of Island Falls had traveled to Moosehead Lake with family for a weekend ice fishing trip they had planned for months. She and her husband have ice fished for years, but it was their first time on the lake. On Saturday, the group caught a variety of fish and measured ice up to 36 inches thick.

They planned to stay overnight on the ice to fish for cusk, a species more active at night. Around 1 a.m. Sunday, Tapley drove toward shore to use an outhouse near the boat landing. 

On the way back to the fishing shack, she shifted slightly left of her original path to avoid a slushy area she had noticed earlier.

Heavy, wet snow had fallen throughout Saturday, and strong winds overnight drifted snow across the lake, partially covering vehicle and snowmobile tracks. Tapley believed she was following a safe route already used by other vehicles.

“There were no signs of weak ice. No puddles, no major cracks, no slush,” she said. 

Moments later she heard a crack and the truck immediately dropped through the ice.

“I was freaked. I couldn’t believe that it was happening,” Tapley said. 

The vehicle quickly sank before stopping with the waterline just below the window. Tapley rolled the window down and struggled to climb out while wearing several layers of winter clothing.

She sat on the door while trying to exit and slipped backward, terrified the truck might continue sinking while she was still inside.

“My legs were still in the truck, but my back was in the water,” she said.

Open water and slush surrounded both sides of the truck, but the ice in front of it remained intact. Tapley pulled herself back into the vehicle, grabbed her phone and yelled for help while working toward the front. Using the side mirror for leverage, she pulled herself onto the hood.

From there, she called her brother, who answered on the first ring.

Her husband and the rest of the group rushed from their nearby fishing shack. Tapley’s husband carefully approached the truck and grabbed her hand to help her jump safely onto the ice.

She then ran to a second vehicle near the shack, removed her soaked clothes and changed into dry layers she had brought. Emergency responders were contacted, but Tapley was not injured and did not require medical treatment. 

Plans are in place to remove the truck Wednesday.

Tapley said alcohol was not involved, despite speculation circulating online.

A mother of two young daughters, Tapley said it was one of the scariest experiences of her life.

“God was 100% watching over me. You cannot convince me otherwise,” she said. 

Despite the ordeal, Tapley still plans to return to Moosehead Lake.

“Will I be driving a truck on the ice? No, absolutely not.”