UTAH COUNTY, Utah, Dec. 31, 2017 (Gephardt Daily) — A 13-year-old boy walked nearly six miles across “barely frozen” Utah Lake after an argument with his parents Friday afternoon, officials said.
The incident began at approximately 4:20 p.m. when the teen got into a fight with his mom and dad, Utah County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. Spencer Cannon told Gephardt Daily.
The boy walked from the Saratoga Springs Marina to the Lindon Marina across the lake, and Cannon said the ice was most likely barely two inches thick in some places.
The boy did have his cell phone with him, so after his parents called officials, deputies called the boy’s phone and directed him towards Lindon Marina.
“He said he could hear the ice cracking most of the way, and when we reached Lindon Marina and could see him, we could hear the ice cracking too,” Cannon said.
“The distance was almost 6 miles and he didn’t break through the ice until his last two steps before coming ashore,” he added.
Thankfully, the water was only about six inches deep where the teen broke through, so only his feet got wet.
Deputies reached Lindon Marina about 15 minutes before the teen got to the shore at approximately 5:40 p.m. and were able to watch him through binoculars, and an airboat was also brought to the scene to go out into the lake if necessary.
The teen warmed up in a patrol car and his parents came to the scene to collect him.
Though it’s not against the law to walk across an icy lake, it’s ill-advised, Cannon said.
“Teenagers tend to do things to make a point but in this case, the action had the potential to be deadly,” Cannon said.
This latest incident is one of three in just the past week in which someone has fallen through an icy pond in Utah.
Also on Friday, a 19-year-old man fell through the ice into a pond near Daybreak in South Jordan while ice fishing and was rescued by residents who formed a human chain.
On Christmas Day, deputies with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call of an 8-year-old boy in the 3100 East block of 2500 South in New Harmony who had fallen into an icy pond while chasing his dog.
The story made national headlines after WCSO Sgt. Aaron Thompson risked his own life by breaking through the ice with his fists to search for the boy, who lay unconscious on the bottom of the pond. The boy, whose name is Jason, is now doing “very well,” according to information his family released to the WCSO.
For more information on what to do if someone falls through ice, click here.
