Northwest Ohio -
In our "Minutes to Live" story that aired on Monday night, Meteorologist Geoff Cornish was in a very controlled environment, outfitted with a dry suit from the Coast Guard, and his time in the icy water was supervised.
Today, we hear from two local women who went through much more dangerous, life-threatening experiences in icy water.
Angela Allen was at a park on a warm day in the winter, with her puppy Torre.
She says Torre ran after some geese walking on a frozen pond. "He probably got out about 50 feet, and then he fell through."
Angela went out after Torre, and immediately fell through the ice. She says adrenaline took over. "I kind of hammered down with my arms through the ice, made my way out to him, and by the time I got out to him, the ice and the water was nearing the top of my head.... if I wouldn't have been able to touch, I don't think I would have made it at all. My body was so numb, it would have almost been impossible to try to stay afloat. With all of the ice around you, constantly breaking in your way, the cold, it just would have been impossible.... I kept tripping and falling into the water."
... But they escaped.
Tammy Pardee's story is very different. She says she was seven or eight years old, and was out playing with her five year old sister.
"Mom said we shouldn't go out on the ice, well, we didn't listen."
They fell through. Fortunately a neighbor was watching.
Tammy says, "he started walking out there, and he fell and it was up to his chest and he realized he couldn't do it."
The fire department arrived, and they took a flat bottom boat out on top of the ice, and began to move out toward the girls.
"We were hanging on by our elbows," Tammy says. We asked her how she felt. "Numb. No feeling, really. Like you were going to die."
Rescuers threw a piece of wood, tied to a rope, toward the girls.
"It was right there, but I couldn't get my arms to move, to touch that board, and they kept yelling, 'reach for that board'," Tammy explained. "But I managed to do it, and they told my sister just to grab me - my coat - whatever, to get us to shore."
They both escaped, and spent the night in the hospital, being treated for hypothermia.
Both of the women who we heard from said the same thing.
They have a great respect for the danger of ice, and now stay far away.
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2013 WorldNow and WTVG. All Rights Reserved.
