A city manager drowned Friday, but not before rescuing his 4-year-old son after they both sank into the ice of a Maine pond.
Kevin Howell, 51, and his son Sawyer were walking early in the morning across a portion of Pond Etna when the ice collapsed under their weight, according to the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office.
Howell pulled Sawyer out of the frigid waters and instructed him to run the 0.3 miles back to his home in Carmel and find his mother.
The young man heroically made the journey to his mother, who called 911 and rushed to help her husband, grabbing an anchor and rope along the way, police said.
After securing the rope to the shore and running across the ice to reach Howell, the wife tragically broke the ice and was unable to get out.
Kevin Howell was walking along Etna’s pond with his young son when the ice collapsed under their weight. carmel town
Fortunately, the Penobscot sheriff arrived shortly after and successfully rescued Howell’s wife by crawling across the ice and using the same rope he had tied moments before.
Howell, however, had disappeared beneath the surface.
His body was recovered by divers shortly before 2 p.m., just 20 minutes after they entered the water and almost 8 hours after Howell broke through the ice.
At the time of his death, Howell was serving as city manager of Carmel, a city nearly 100 miles northeast of Lewiston.
After securing the rope to the shore and running across the ice to reach Howell, the wife tragically broke the ice and was unable to get out. YouTube/ NEWS CENTER
He had held the position since 2015 and received several accolades for his work in city government, including the city’s Leadership Award in 2020, according to Carmel’s website.
Several city employees changed their Facebook profile photos to an image of the city emblem, along with a black ribbon to represent mourning, in the hours after the tragedy.
Howell also served as a member of the second Maine EMS Blue Ribbon Commission.
“Mr. Howell was a visionary for the development of a regional EMS system in his community. We greatly appreciate his support of the Maine Bureau of EMS, the state of Maine, and the kindness he showed his community and colleagues. Our deepest condolences for his friends and family,” Maine EMS said in a statement.
Etna Pond Etna Pond covers approximately 361 acres and has a depth of 12 feet and is a popular spot for ice fishing and skating.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn