A 51-year-old father died Friday while saving his son after both fell through the ice of a frozen pond in Maine, authorities said in a press release.
The Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) said Kevin Howell was walking across part of Etna Pond in Carmel, Maine, with his four-year-old son when both fell through cracked ice early Friday morning. Howell was the Town Manager of Carmel, according to Town of Carmel’s website.
Howell was able to get his son out of the water and back on solid ice before telling him to run and get his mother, according to the press release. (RELATED: Body Cam Footage Shows Dog Helping Rescue Owner Stuck In Frozen Lake)
The mother called 911 and reportedly grabbed an anchor and rope as she ran down to the pond to help her husband, the PCSO said.
When she reached the pond, she anchored the rope to the shore and waded out onto the ice in an effort to save her husband, but fell through and couldn’t get out, according to the press release.
A local Sheriff’s detective who heard the 911 call arrived at the pond in time to make a daring rescue of the wife by crawling out onto the ice and using the rope to bring her to shore, the PCSO said.
Although the son and mother were rescued, the father drowned and was found hours later by two Maine Warden Service divers, according to the press release.
In response to the tragedy, Maine officials warned residents to make sure they have the proper tools needed to get out of the water if they fall through ice, according to WGME 13.
“Us wardens, we pretty much always carry these in our pockets, and these are just items that we carry if we fall through the ice, we can get ourselves out easily and efficiently,” Maine Game Warden Emerson Duplissie-Cyr stated, WGME 13 reported. “Even having an ice chisel like this, just checking the depth of the ice or the thickness of the ice as you go out. Continuously checking every few feet, just because where the ice is at one spot can change drastically.”
Another near tragedy was avoided on Saturday when five people, including three children, fell through the ice on another Maine pond, WGME 13 reported. According to officials, their vehicle reportedly broke through the ice, and others nearby detected their yelling, resulting in their rescue.