Man dies saving his son after both fall through frozen pond

The manager of a Maine town died after rescuing his 4-year-old son from a frozen pond where they both fell into while hiking on Friday, officials said.

The manager, Kevin Howell, 51, of Carmel, was with his son when they both fell through the ice while crossing Etna Pond, the Penobscot County Sheriff's Office said. Facebook.

Mr. Howell got his son out of the water and onto the ice, and told the boy to get his mother.

The boy ran home, about a mile away from the pond, and his mother called 911. She told the boy to stay home while she rushed to the pond. She grabbed an anchor and rope and ran to the pond, the sheriff's office said.

When the woman, whose name was not released, reached the water, she tied the rope to the shore but eventually broke through the ice as well, authorities said.

Sheriff's Detective Jordan Norton arrived after hearing the 911 call.

“When he saw the woman in the water, he began crawling across the treacherous ice, holding on to the rope, and was able to pull the mother out” and bring her to shore, the sheriff's office said.

However, he could find no trace of Mr. Howell. Six Maine Warden Service divers and one State Police diver were called. Two swooped in around 1.40pm and found Mr Howell's body about 20 minutes later. It was unclear how thick the ice was at that time.

City officials were not immediately available for comment on Sunday.

As manager of Carmel, a town of less than 3,000 people 16 miles west of Bangor, Mr. Howell was responsible for overseeing and managing local government departments.

He was recognized in 2018 for his work to improve the city's recycling program and was honored in 2020 with the Maine Town, City and County Management Association's annual Leadership Award, given to public officials who lead innovative projects or solve difficult problems in their roles.