In Clinton, County, Illinois, first responders confirmed they recovered the body of a man in his 20s who fell through the ice while trying to rescue his dog from a frozen pond in Clinton County on Monday.
Recovery efforts on Tuesday by the St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency identified the man as Luke Kitterman, 23. He had fallen through the frozen pond on Monday.
According to the New Baden Fire Department, six young men had been goose hunting together when the incident happened. The dog that retrieved the geese had run out onto the ice when the ice cracked and he fell in. The dog’s owner, Luke, panicked at the thought of his dog drowning under the ice.
According to witnesses, Kitterman belly-crawled onto the ice and was able to pull the dog back out of the water. And then the dog ran back into the water to save his owner.
he was able to pull the dog back onto the ice, but the dog went in again after his owner. And then after that, that is when the owner of the dog went underwater.
His friends tried to help and were able to pull the dog out of the water and into a canoe. Sadly, they had lost sight of Kitterman.
More than 75 emergency personnel arrived quickly and for several hours searched for Kitterman in the extreme cold. The rescue turned to a recovery mission after the search was called off later in the evening, scheduled to resume on Tuesday morning. The pond where the victim fell in is roughly four acres wide and between 18 and 34 feet deep.
Social media expressed their sorrow towards the young man and expressed how proud they were that Kitterman had been so loyal to his dog. Other comments wanted to make sure hunters were warned of the perils when hunting in the snow and ice.
As a lifelong waterfowl hunter i will say ice and water are NO joke. Had a few Very close calls myself. May God show him where all the good duck holes in heaven are. Rest in peace young brave man.
Read previous article here.
Follow the National Pet Rescue on Facebook for the latest animal related news.
Oh my!
