‘That’s an unforgiving giant body of water,’ Pickup truck rescued from Maumee Bay after weeks being stuck near Erie marina

The truck’s owner, Marty Doll, says it got stuck as he was coming back from cleaning up trash near surrounding islands on Valentine’s Day.

ERIE, Mich. — You might have seen it while scrolling through Facebook recently. 

A white pickup truck that sat stranded on ice in western Lake Erie for more than two weeks is finally back on land after a recovery effort near Lost Peninsula Marina in Erie, Michigan.

The truck belonged to Marty Doll of Point Place, who said the situation began on Valentine’s Day when he drove his Chevrolet pickup onto the ice in Maumee Bay.

Doll said he believed the ice was thick enough — about 15 inches — when he drove out to clean up trash left behind from a party on nearby land.

“On the way home, I hit a soft spot and the passenger side of the truck went down through,” Doll said.

The truck became stuck nearly a half mile from shore. Doll said his first reaction was shock.

“It was a whole lot of words that I’m not allowed to say on camera,” he said.

For the next 17 days, the truck remained frozen in place on the ice. During that time, Doll said he had to rely on rides from others or use ride-sharing services to get to work, which sometimes cost him about $80 a day.

Meanwhile, the stranded pickup gained attention on social media as photos and videos circulated showing the vehicle sitting alone out on the ice.

As temperatures began to warm, the ice started weakening and the truck slowly began to sink further into it.

Doll said he tried several ways to retrieve the truck but had no success. Finally, on the morning of March 3, he contacted friends at Lost Peninsula Marina for help.

Fred Schassberger and Martin Nelson assisted with the recovery.

Using a pontoon boat, they took about 3,000 feet of heavy-duty rope out to the truck and attached it. The rope, which weighs about 300 pounds and is capable of pulling more than 30,000 pounds, was then connected to a forklift on shore.

“I’m lucky my wife didn’t divorce me,” Doll said.

Marina workers said no fluids from the vehicle leaked into the water during the recovery.

“It worked out good. I’ll do anything I can out here to help people,” Schassberger said. 

Doll said he does not plan to keep the truck, but he will keep the lesson from the experience.

“That’s an unforgiving giant body of water,” he said. “You have to use your best judgment. You have to be safe.”