An 8-year-old boy spent about half an hour in a frozen pond on Christmas Day, until a police officer rescued him.
The boy was playing with another child in New Harmony, Utah, when his dog ran away around 5 p.m. The boy chased after the dog and ran on a frozen pond. About 25 feet out on the pond, the ice gave way.
The child ran to get an adult, who called the police.
Sgt. Thompson of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office was the first one on the scene, some 130 miles northeast of Las Vegas. Once he found the boy in the pond, an air ambulance, paramedics, and a search and rescue dive team were already on the way.
But Thompson “made the personal decision,” as the sheriff’s office put it, to attempt a rescue on his own.
Not willing to wait for the rescue team to arrive, he put down his gear and went onto the ice to try and pull the boy out. He got about 10 feet in before the ice broke under him too.
Thompson started to move forward, breaking the ice with his hands and arms.
“He and another citizen were actually able to break through the ice, go into the water, and retrieve the boy out of the pond,” said Lt. David Crouse of the sheriff’s office. “He was taken to a nearby ambulance.”
Thompson suffered hypothermia and minor cuts to his arms as he punched through the ice. He was taken to Dixie Regional Medical Center for treatment.
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