Police in Woolwich Township, New Jersey, were applauded for their actions over the weekend when, officials said, on Sunday, a trio of officers worked together to save a boy who had fallen beneath the ice in freezing cold temperatures.
According to police, who posted about the rescue on social media, officers were alerted to the situation on Sunday at a retention basin along the corner of Center Square Road and Township Line Road in Woolwich Township, when a “concerned citizen” reported hearing a boy’s shouts and called 9-1-1.
In a post, police said three officers with the Woolwich Township Police Department responded to the situation.
Immediately, police said, the officers deployed a rope to the boy, 13, but he was unable to hold on to the rope because of the freezing temperatures.
As could be seen in a time stamped body camera image, the officers attempted the rescue at about 4:25 p.m. on Sunday.
When the boy couldn’t grasp the rope, officials said, Sergeant Joseph Rieger then “prone crawled” onto the ice and reached the child, but the ice gave away under the officer and the boy’s combined weight.
“At that point, Corporal Steve Spithaler and Patrolman Michael Scambia immediately entered the icy water and assisted with the rescue,” officials said in a statement online.
Everyone was then safely able to exit to water and no one was injured in this incident, officials said.
In a Monday morning update, officials in Woolwich Township said the boy was briefly hospitalized and released as a precaution.
Officials said the boy wandered onto the retention area “to see if he could walk on the ice.”
In detailing the officers’ work, officials reminded residents that lakes, ponds and retention basins in the community should not be trespassed on and ice can make these places “unpredictable and extremely dangerous.”
“Please stay off the ice,” officials said.
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