Father Dies After Rescuing Young Son, 6, from Frozen Pond While Ice Fishing
A man and his friend died, but he managed to rescue his 6-year-old son after the three of them fell into freezing waters while ice fishing.
On Sunday (January 18), New York State Police revealed that they were investigating an incident that occurred on Chaumont Pond in Clifton, N.Y. They responded to a call about “individuals riding a snow mobile that had gone through the ice.”
Arriving at the scene, first responders found Bryan P. LaPlante, 33, and Michael J. Booth, 48, in the pond.
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“An investigation determined that three individuals were ice fishing on Chaumont Pond,” a news release read, noting that Patrick LaPlante, Bryan‘s father, went looking for the group after they “had not returned from fishing.”
Patrick found Bryan in the waters and “crawled toward him to assist, but subsequently fell through the ice himself.” He got to safety but was unable to rescue Bryan and could not find Michael or his 6-year-old grandson, who has not been named.
After reporting the tragedy, he returned home to warm up. There he found his grandson, who had walked approximately two miles.
A source told WWNY that Bryan had been able to push his son to safety after they all fell into the water.
Patrick and his grandson were treated for hypothermia at Clifton-Fine Hospital. Bryan and Michael were taken to Gouverneur Hospital “with CPR in progress.” However, they were both declared dead at the hospital.