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Tragedy struck near Cape Cod on Saturday when a woman lost her life after falling through the ice on a frozen river, and a man accompanying her went missing. The couple had been out walking their dog, according to reports.
Authorities were alerted to the incident at 9:07 a.m. by a call reporting a distressed, wet dog. Responding to the situation, a police officer hurried to the scene upon hearing a woman’s cries for help, as noted by The Cape Cod Times.
The first officer on the scene made a brave attempt to rescue the woman but ended up breaking through the fragile ice of Bee’s River and found himself in the icy water.
Another officer arrived and attempted to assist both the first officer and the woman. However, he too fell through the thin ice during the rescue effort.
Both officers managed to make it back to shore and were subsequently taken to Cape Cod Hospital for treatment.
Rescue divers from the local rescue squad recovered the woman’s body around 11 a.m. She was announced dead at the scene.
When first responders learned that her husband had also fallen through the ice, a crew from the Barnstable County Technical Rescue and Dive Team stayed on the scene until 5 p.m., trying to find him.
The identities of the couple have not yet been disclosed, with the police saying they are waiting until their families have been notified.
The search is set to resume Sunday morning.
Authorities believe that the husband plunged through the ice first, it is unclear at this time what happened to the dog.