Man traverses frozen pond to rescue children who fell through ice, Missouri official says

A child walking along the frozen top of a pond fell through the ice, a Missouri fire chief says.

That’s when a second kid braved the ice to try to rescue the other, Fire Chief Mick Fischer with the Cedar Hill Fire Protection District told McClatchy News. But during the daring attempt, that second child also fell through the ice.

Both children, believed to be young teens or possibly a little younger, then needed to be rescued.

An adult man related to the children called 911 at about 5:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 24 before traversing the pond to rescue the children himself, Fischer said.

“He actually kind of belly crawled out as far as he could towards them, and as he got closer he fell through too,” the fire chief told KMOV.

The adult managed to pull both kids to safety before the fire department arrived, Fischer told McClatchy News.

“Fortunately it turned out good for all parties that they were able to get them out,” he said.

The man and two children were all treated and released on scene, and Fischer said they were more “shook up” than anything else.

“This is a reminder of how dangerous ice can be,” the fire district said on Facebook.

Cedar Hill is about 35 miles southwest of St. Louis.

This story was originally published January 25, 2022 at 1:13 PM with the headline "Man traverses frozen pond to rescue children who fell through ice, Missouri official says."