(Spirit Lake)– The Dickinson County Sheriff’s Office says a piece of high tech equipment it received through a grant likely saved the life of a Minnesota woman involved in a snowmobile accident on Big Spirit Lake.
Deputies say 50-year-old Diane Ringquist of Jackson was operating a 2000 Arctic Cat snowmobile northbound when she struck a large snow drift on the lake. The sled then rolled.
Ringquist was unable to give authorities her exact location on the lake. Dispatchers were able to get her rough location by using the cellular 911 GPS locating system. A sheriff’s deputy then went to the area and was able to pinpoint her location by using a handheld thermal imager.
Rescue crews and paramedics were then summoned to the scene, and Ringquist was transported by ambulance to Lakes Regional Healthcare in Spirit Lake with non-incapacitating injuries.
Authorities are just now releasing details of the February 27th incident.
