A woman from England and a U.S. man, formerly living in Canada, have been sentenced to time served for their guilty pleas to charges stemming from an attempt to enter the states that left them stranded on the Niagara Gorge ice bridge.
Linda Ann Summerfield, 51, an English citizen and resident of Canada, and Mark Prince, 39, a U.S. citizen who was living in Canada until he was deported in January 2009, were both sentenced this week by U.S. District Court Judge William Skretny.
Skretny also ordered the pair to pay $447.11 to the Niagara Falls Fire Department to reimburse it for costs incurred when firefighters had to rescue them from the gorge.
Prince and Summerfield had tried to enter the U.S., via the Rainbow Bridge on Jan. 23. Prince had been ordered removed from Canada, and was allowed to enter the states, but Summerfield was denied entry and forced to return to Canada.
Later that evening, with temperatures hovering around 14 degrees, Summerfield descended into the Niagara Gorge on the Canadian side of the Niagara River and walked across the river to the U.S., using the ice bridge below the Rainbow Bridge. Slightly after 8 p.m., when Summerfield realized that she was not going to be able to climb up the gorge on the American side, she called Prince from her cell phone.
Prince then lowered himself into the gorge near the Rainbow Bridge where Summerfield was waiting. After unsuccessfully attempting to get himself and Summerfield out of the gorge, Prince called 911.
Falls firefighters worked for five hours in the sub-zero temperatures to get Summerfield and Prince out. Firefighters had to rappel into the gorge and secure Summerfield and Prince in baskets, one at a time, to be lifted out of the gorge.
Summerfield and Prince were then airlifted to the Erie County Medical Center where they were treated for hypothermia.
The couple has been in custody since their arrest after their rescue. In June, Summerfield pled guilty to attempted illegal re-entry into the United States, and Prince pled guilty to aiding and abetting the attempted illegal re-entry.
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