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CLARK, Wade William 1960-2012

CLARK, ROSENKRANS, HAAG

Posted By: S. Bell
Date: 4/27/2012 at 15:46:57

#1:

CEDAR FALLS, IOWA - Wade William Clark, 51, of Cedar Falls, died Wednesday, Feb. 1, at Allen Hospital after an ice fishing accident.

He was born March 12, 1960, in Waterloo, son of Larry and Janet Rosenkrans Clark. He married Colleen Haag July 13, 1990, in Waterloo.

He graduated from Central High School in 1978. Mr. Clark worked in the construction industry in the local area.

Survived by his wife; a son, Noah of West Des Moines; his dog, Tugger; his parents of Waterloo; three brothers, Jeff (Sandy) of West Des Moines, Randy (Tracy) of Marion and Jason (Lee) of Winterset; his maternal grandmother, Winona Rosenkrans of Waterloo; three nieces, Keegan, Kelsey and Kallie; four nephews, Drake, Dakota, Josh and Jake; a great-nephew, Boston; his mother-in-law, Marilyn Haag of Waterloo; and two brothers-in-law, Randy (Bev) Haag and Eddy (Jan) Haag, all of Waterloo.

Preceded in death by a son, Adam; and his father-in-law, Howard Haag.

Services: family services have been held. His body has been cremated. Locke Funeral Home assisted the family.

Memorials in lieu of flowers, may be directed to the family.

Wade was an avid hunter and fisherman all his life. He loved the outdoors, loved his wife, his dog and his family. He will be so sorely missed by all.

[Waterloo Courier, Sunday, February 5, 2012]
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#2:

Fishermen Puzzled

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - The death of a man after he apparently fell through the ice at George Wyth State Park in Waterloo left fellow fishermen feeling perplexed on Thursday. The victim was a longtime angler in the Black Hawk County area who had years of experience fishing year-round.

Authorities identified the victim as Wade William Clark, 51 of Cedar Falls. First responders got the call to the lake at the park at about 7:30 Wednesday night. They found Clark almost an hour later under the water. He was pronounced dead at Allen Hospital in Waterloo. Clark’s death marks the third fatality this week in Iowa involving a fall through ice while fishing. Two Des Moines residents drowned Monday night after falling through ice on a lake in Madison County.

A few days ago, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources warned anglers south of I-80 to stay off the ice due to warmer temperatures and thin ice. Thursday, the DNR expanded that warning to apply to any ice-covered lake or river on a line south of Mason City.

Ranger Gary Dusenberry was the person who heard Clark cry for help while out on the ice-covered main lake at George Wyth State Park. Dusenberry said he saw people ice fishing earlier in the day but thinks the others may have left before Clark. The fog was so thick Dusenberry couldn’t see the struggling man Wednesday night. Dusenberry said he has no proof, but he thinks the victim might have gotten lost in the fog and walked onto an area of thin ice while trying to make it to shore and his parked vehicle. “At that time, I believed he had packed up and was going back to his vehicle. The fog was so dense you couldn’t see well,” Dusenberry said.

Waterloo Fire rescuers repeatedly broke through the ice trying to locate the fisherman. Mike Moore, a battalion chief, said the ice was only an inch thick in the area where firefighters located Clark.

The victim had stopped for supplies at Hank’s Live Bait & Tackle in Waterloo earlier on Wednesday. Several people there described him as an expert fisherman who was used to being on the water, or on the ice, at any time of year. Those who knew him said he follow safety procedures. Still, workers had warned anglers for days not to trust the ice. “We tried to tell everybody who came in here to go with somebody and check the ice before you got on it. But it’s just like a car accident, you can’t always stop it from happening,” said employee Dan Overmann,

Another ice fisherman who also knew Clark, Justin Kreisel, said after this incident he was probably done ice fishing for the season. “We’ve been fishing hard for two weeks, but this is the second one who’s fallen through the ice. I’m pretty sure we’re not going back out,” Kreisel said.

The DNR is warning even if cold weather returns, a lot of ice of Eastern Iowa lakes now area already honeycombed from melting and weak due to the abnormally warm winter weather. Officials say the safe bet now is to put the ice fishing gear away and wait for a colder winter.

[KCRG-TV online, By Dave Franzman February 2, 2012]
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#3:

WATERLOO, Iowa - A man died after he apparently fell through the ice at George Wyth Lake while fishing Wednesday evening.

Waterloo firefighters pulled a the unconscious 51-year-old man from the lake, which is located in George Wyth State Park, after he had apparently been underwater for a number of minutes, said Battalion Chief Mike Junk with Waterloo Fire Rescue.

Paramedics took the man, identified as Wade William Clark, 51, of Cedar Falls, to Allen Hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead a short time later.

The incident underscores recent warnings from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources about weakening ice on the state's lakes and ponds due to unseasonably warm weather. A couple died in rural Madison County earlier this week in a similar accident.

Officials believe Clark was fishing alone Wednesday.

At about 7:30 p.m., Park Ranger Gary Dusenberry was at his home on the park property next to the lake when he heard the man call for help, Junk said.

Dusenberry was unable to see him because of the darkness and fog and called 911, Junk said.

Firefighters Chris Shafer and Dave Meiser and Paramedic Greg Stewart donned insulated dry suits while heading to the scene. Attached to safety lines, the three took off across the partially frozen lake. The cries for help had stopped, but crews followed the ranger's estimation of where they came from.

A number of times, the firefighters broke through thin ice while searching, Junk said. They eventually came to an area of open water but weren't able to find anything.

After more searching, the trio discovered a second patch of open water with some fishing equipment nearby, Junk said. The water at that point was too deep to stand in, and firefighters found the man while probing with a hooked pole, he said.

Firefighters loaded the man onto the department's Rescue Alive sled, which is like a miniature pontoon boat, to transport him back to shore.

Two other people have drowned on Iowa waters this week.

On Monday night, authorities recovered the bodies of a man and woman from a rural Madison County pond. Officials said Linda Jones, 64, of rural Prole, and George Pierce, 80, of Des Moines, had been ice fishing. Her husband alerted officials after discovering a wide hole in the ice while checking on them.

That same day, the DNR cautioned anglers from ice fishing in south and central Iowa.

"We had quality ice in central Iowa as recently as Saturday, but the warming trend has ruined the ice in central and southern Iowa. Ice fishing around here is no longer an option," said Ben Dodd, fisheries biologist with DNR's Boone office, in a press release.

The release said ice fishing options improved on lakes north of Highway 20, but it encouraged residents to use caution even in northern Iowa.

"I would test the ice often, regardless of its location because of the inconsistent weather that we have had," Dodd said.

Dodd said anglers should avoid wet or dark spots on the ice, approach the ice with the same caution as if it were early in the season, bring a set of ice picks and don't go out alone.

Other safety tips include having at least 50 feet of rope and a throwable floatation cushion.

February 02, 2012 7:30 a.m. -- By JEFF REINITZ, jeff.reinitz@wcfcourier.com


 

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