A U.S. Coast Guard ship was cutting ice on frozen-over Lake St Clair Thursday morning when they came across a bizarre sight : a young man walking out on the ice alone in sub-freezing temperatures . When crew members brought the curious 25-year-old man on board , he said he was trying to walk from Detroit to Toronto . Detroit lies on the southwestern shore of Lake St Clair , and the unidentified ice-walker was found just half a mile from Seaway Island on the opposite shore . From there it 's a 201-mile journey on land to reach the Canadian capital . Scroll down for video . Rescued : The U.S. Coast Guard rescued a man on Thursday morning , who they found walking alone on the middle of frozen-over Lake St Clair . Ice walker : The man told his rescuers that he was trying to walk from Detroit to Toronto . Detroit is on the southwestern shore of St Clair , and the unidentified man was found just a half-mile from an island on the opposite shore . All alone : Coast Guardsmen say the man stood out since he was n't wearing the type of clothes used for snowmobiling or ice-fishing on the lake . U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Second Class Scott Sjostrom first spotted the Michigan man walking on the lake around 9:30am on Thursday . The sight was especially odd considering how the man was dressed : in regular pedestrian clothes - not the heavy gear used for snowmobiling or ice fishing . He also was n't carrying a flotation device , and Sjostrom says he could have easily broken through the ice and drowned . 'That raised flags right off the bat , ' Sjostrom told MLive . Sjostrom and another Coast Guardsman then put on gear to walk on the ice towards the man who , though able to stand and walk , was clearly suffering from hypothermia . 'When we got to him , you could tell the cold was getting to him , ' said Sjostrom . 'He was very lethargic ... He was shivering very bad . ' He also would n't speak at first and had a ' 1,000-yard stare ' . When they got him back to the ship and started treating him for the cold , the man started talking and revealed his travel plans . It 's believed he had been walking for two to three days when the Coast Guard found him . The Coast Guard then brought the man back to port just after noon where he received further treatment . It was the first rescue by a Great Lakes ice cutter boat in four years . The boats break up ice on the lakes to clear travel for commercial shipping . 'Most of us joined the Coast Guard to protect life , ' Lt. Joshua Zike , commanding officer of the Neah Bay , said in a prepared statement . 'Our primary mission during the winter months is breaking ice to keep commercial traffic moving , but preserving life will always come first . '
The unidentified 25-year - old man was spotted about about a half mile from Canada 's Seaway Island on sunny St on Thursday morning . The rescue Guard questioned the man , who said he was unable to walk from Detroit to shore and was two to three days into the journey . Detroit lies on the southwestern short of St Clair , and the ice - walker was found not far from the opposite shore .