A Massachusetts woman died after plunging through the ice of a frozen river near a Cape Cod beach while walking her dog with her husband, who remains missing.
Eastham police and searchers believe the unidentified couple were walking their dog on Bee’s River when they broke through the ice.
Police arrived at First Encounter Beach on Saturday at 9:07am after they received a report of a loose dog that was wet and appeared to be in distress.
The first officer to arrive heard the screams of a woman in Bee’s River. The officer tried to pull the woman out but fell through the ice as well.
A second officer tried to get them both out, only to also fall in to frigid water that reached his waist, according to a joint press release from the Eastham Police Department and the Eastham Fire Department.
Amid the chaos, the firefighters arrived and were able to get the officers safely back to shore. They were later transported to the hospital.
It’s unclear if the officers were separated from the woman or if she had slipped beneath the ice, but divers with the Barnstable County Technical Rescue Team eventually arrived on the scene to try to find her.
At 11:12am, divers found the woman trapped underneath the ice. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Pictured: Rescue teams show up at Bee’s River near Eastham, Massachusetts, to try to save a woman who fell in the ice
Two police officers fell in trying to pull the woman out. The Eastham Fire Department got them safely out but the woman slipped beneath the ice and was later found dead
Rescuers are still on the scene looking for the woman’s husband, who is believed to have fallen in the ice as well. The theory is that the couple was walking their dog on the frozen river
While the dive team had been looking for her, investigators were able to piece together that the woman’s husband was with her and likely fell through the ice along with her.
The technical team is still looking for the husband, according to the release from the Eastham Police Department.
‘The area is still an active scene, and the public should avoid the area,’ the department said.
The identities of the deceased woman and the missing man are being withheld until their families are notified, police said.
Ice that is light gray or dark black signfies that is melting. This ice cannot hold any significant weight and should not be walked on.
Blue or clear ice that is more than four inches thick is generally safe to walk on.
‘No matter what color the ice is or how sure you are of the strength you should check by using an auger, chisel, or an axe to determine that it is at least 4-6 inches thick,’ according to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
