New Harmony • A sheriff’s deputy in southern Utah punched through a frozen pond on Christmas Day to pull out a drowning 8-year-old boy.

The boy was chasing his dog Monday evening when another child saw him fall through the ice on a pond in the town of New Harmony, north of St. George, according to Washington County sheriff’s Lt. David Crouse.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Aaron Thompson broke a path through the ice until he was close enough to dive in and grab the boy about 25 feet from the shoreline, Crouse said.

The boy was airlifted to a hospital in St. George, and his condition has not been made public.

The deputy was treated for cuts, bruises and symptoms of hypothermia and was released from Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George, spokeswoman Terri Draper said Tuesday.

Thompson will speak at an afternoon press conference, where authorities planned to release more details.

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