
The Latest: Authorities hopeful for boy pulled from ice
Updated 7:01 pm, Tuesday, December 26, 2017
NEW HARMONY, Utah (AP) — The Latest on a deputy rescuing a boy from a frozen Utah pond (all times local):
5 p.m.
A southern Utah sheriff's deputy who punched through a frozen pond on Christmas Day to rescue a drowning 8-year-old boy says authorities believe the boy was in the cold water for about 30 minutes.
Authorities have not offered details about the boy's condition but Sgt. Aaron Thompson said at a news conference Tuesday that deputies were hopeful for the boy.
Thompson appeared with cuts on his forearms and says he spent about two minutes breaking through the ice before locating the boy underneath it.
Thompson was treated for symptoms of hypothermia and cuts and bruises.
He says he lost feeling in some of his fingers Christmas night but that sensation returned Tuesday morning.
Thompson says he hopes to return to work later this week or early next week.
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1:30 p.m.
A southern Utah sheriff's deputy who punched through a frozen pond on Christmas Day to rescue a drowning 8-year-old boy has been released from the hospital.
Terri Draper with Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George said Tuesday that Washington County sheriff's Sgt. Aaron Thompson was released from the hospital after being treated for symptoms of hypothermia and cuts and bruises.
The boy also was hospitalized, but his condition hasn't been released.
Authorities say Thompson will speak Tuesday afternoon at a press conference, where authorities planned to release more details.
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8:10 a.m.
A sheriff's deputy in southern Utah punched through a frozen pond on Christmas Day to rescue a drowning 8-year-old boy.
Washington County Sheriff's Lt. David Crouse says the boy was chasing his dog at about 5 p.m. Monday when another child saw him fall through the ice on a pond in New Harmony north of St. George.
He says sheriff's Sgt. Aaron Thompson broke a path through the ice until he was close enough to dive in and locate the boy about 25 feet from the shoreline.
Crouse says the boy was airlifted to Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George where his condition has not been released.
The deputy also has been hospitalized with cuts and bruises and symptoms of hypothermia. The extent of his injuries wasn't immediately known.