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Over the weekend, a 13-year-old boy was rescued after falling through thin ice on a retention pond in Woolwich Township, New Jersey. The incident happened Sunday afternoon and police body camera video captured the boy screaming for help as officers worked to reach him.
Woolwich Township police officers first attempted to rescue the teen using ropes from the shore, but weren’t successful. Sergeant Joseph Rieger says he moved closer after the boy yelled that he had lost feeling, raising concerns about hypothermia. Rieger carefully crawled across the ice to reach the boy, but the thin ice broke and both went into the water.
Corporal Steven Spithaler and another officer then entered the pond to assist, helping break through the ice so the boy could be pulled to safety. All officers and the teen made it back to shore, where police immediately worked to warm him. The boy was taken to a hospital for evaluation and is expected to be fine. Police took the opportunity to warn the public to stay off frozen ponds and lakes due to unsafe ice conditions.
Source: 6 ABC