| Saw this in todays local paper, be carefull out there folks!
Batavia man dies of hypothermia on fishing trip
By Veronica Gonzalez Daily Herald Staff Writer
Posted on December 04, 2002
Steve Hudgens was so excited about his annual post-Thanksgiving fishing trip that he cajoled his family into letting him leave a couple days early.
Only this time, the 49-year-old husband and father of two would not make it home.
Hudgens and a friend died of hypothermia Saturday as they and a third friend fished in Little Bay de Noc, a popular spot for walleye in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
In addition to Hudgens, Joseph Zahn, 50, of Sheboygan Falls, Wis., died. Stephen Smithberger, 43, of Union, Ill., survived.
At 11 a.m. Saturday, the three men pushed off from shore near the town of Escanaba, Mich., in Smithberger's 181/2-foot boat, said Delta County Sheriff Lt. Gary Ballweg.
The temperature was 15 degrees, Ballweg said. With 30 mph winds, the wind chill plunged below zero, he said.
Waves up to six feet high pummeled at the boat. The motor died about 1:30 p.m., and a smaller trolling motor used for fishing gave out, too. The boat was taking on water.
And then the bilge pump froze.
Strong wind and waves pushed them away from the harbor from where they'd started.
Using a cell phone, they tried to call friends staying in a motel, Ballweg said.
The line was busy.
They tried to call 911, but before the last number was dialed, a wave swallowed the phone, Ballweg said.
Waves eventually capsized the boat, then righted it again, he said. It was at the water's mercy. The men were soaked. They clung on wearing life jackets and layers of clothing.
The water temperature was 38 degrees.
"There was nobody else out there," Ballweg said.
Finally, a woman who lived across the bay spotted the boat around dusk and contacted police.
Police fought through a layer of ice and rescued Smithberger.
A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter recovered Hudgens' body about 7:30 p.m., and Zahn's body was recovered about 10:30 p.m., Ballweg said.
Hudgens had been fishing for 23 years, and he used to go ice fishing in Escanaba.
"They're used to the waters," said his wife, Bonnie.
"They're used to the cold. They had sub-zero gear for this," she said. "They would have never gone out if they felt it was treacherous. They went out and the conditions changed, and it was just one of those freak things."
Hudgens, an excavator, was passionate about fishing and his job.
He worked about five years for Fox Excavating in Batavia and the previous 18 years for Stan White Excavating in St. Charles.
"He was a workaholic, and when he wasn't working he was getting his chores done so he could go fishing," his wife said.
In his off time, he inspected other work sites.
"He'd talk about how the crown in the road wasn't right and why they did something this way," she said. "We'd be going someplace to the store and if he saw a piece of machinery, he'd go see who was doing the work."
Hudgens was born in St. Charles as Robert Steven, but he was known to friends as Steve. He graduated from St. Charles High School in 1972.
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