Fishing guide dies when snowmobile plunges through Lake Superior ice

A 34-year-old fishing guide from Bayfield, Wis., died during the weekend after his snowmobile went through the ice on Lake Superior, the Ashland County Sheriff's Office reported on Sunday.

James Hudson, 34, was on a sled that plunged through the ice in a channel between Long Island and the mainland near Madeline Island about 1 p.m. Saturday.

The Coast Guard reported that a passerby tried to help Hudson get out of the water, but kept falling through the ice also. Hudson was in the water about 45 minutes before rescue crews were able to get him out. He was treated in Ashland, and later flown to St. Mary's Medical Center in Duluth, where he died.

Hudson, a former police officer, ran Hudson's On the Spot Guide Service and was a well-known fishing guide in the area, according to testimonials posted on the Internet.

He was married to Hannah Stonehouse Hudson, a photographer who gained worldwide recognition last year when she took a photo of a ponytailed John Unger tenderly cradling his elderly dog, Schoep, in the waters of Lake Superior. The photograph went viral on the Internet.

The couple were married in July 2005.

On Sunday, condolences poured into both Hudsons' Facebook pages. Hannah Hudson posted on hers: "My love is gone. I am so sad. Thank you everyone for the love and prayers. It's amazing how things happen in the blink of an eye."

Services were pending.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Heron Marquez • 952-746-3281