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WOOLWICH TOWNSHIP, N.J. — A teenage boy was pulled from an icy retention pond Sunday afternoon after police officers in New Jersey crawled onto thin ice and ultimately went into the water to reach him.
Police said the 13-year-old boy fell through the ice in the middle of the pond in Woolwich Township around 4:30 p.m.
Body camera video captured the rescue as officers worked to reach him while he screamed for help.
“He was screaming for help. He had been out there for several minutes already,” Sgt. Joseph Rieger said.
Officers worried the teen was becoming hypothermic as they attempted to reach him with ropes from the shore, but the ropes were not effective. Rieger said he moved toward the teen after hearing him yell that he could no longer feel anything.
“Once he started screaming that he couldn’t feel anything, I think my fatherly instincts kicked in and I just went out and got him,” Rieger said.
Crawling across the ice, Rieger managed to reach the boy, but the ice gave way.
“I tried to reach for him to pull him up onto the ice, and when I did that, we both went under,” Rieger said. “At that point, I could stand. I was probably about up to my shoulders, so I just started throwing him up onto the ice and breaking my way back.”
Corporal Steven Spithaler and another officer went into the water as well, breaking through the ice to meet Rieger.
“Patrolman Scambia and I just said, ‘That’s it, we’re going in,'” Spithaler said. “The kid was so cold that he couldn’t function, and he was screaming to us, ‘I can’t hold it, I can’t hold it.'”
All the officers and the teen made it safely to shore, where police worked to warm the boy.
Officers said the ice was only a few inches thick, prompting warnings to stay off frozen ponds and lakes.
“It’s a lot of unknowns with ice. You don’t know how cold it is or how thick it is, so my recommendation is just to stay off,” Rieger said.
The boy was taken to a hospital to be evaluated, and police said he is expected to be fine.
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