Fire & Rescue
One of two boys rescued from icy lake in Sparta has died, other is safe
A 9-year-old boy from Sparta has died, after falling through ice on a lake and being trapped underwater for an hour and 35 minutes.
Two boys were pulled from Perch Lake in Sparta on Sunday afternoon.
Authorities announced today that the 9-year-old died at a Rochester hospital.
The other boy, who is 12, was “hanging on for dear life … clinging to the edge of the ice,” Sparta Area Fire District Chief Mike Arnold said when he arrived on scene.
That boy was treated at a hospital and released.
A girl who was with them managed to get off the ice and run to a local bait shop to call 911 around 3 p.m., Arnold said.
The boy who went under was brought to the surface by a diver from the Fort McCoy Fire Department.
“We actually ended up using an underwater camera and divers were able to locate the victim,” Arnold said.
The boy was then was loaded into a boat and taken to the Sparta helipad, before being flown to Mayo Clinic in Rochester.
Debra stalsberg
January 6, 2019 at 10:09 pm
The kids are my niece and nephews.jaden was the child under water last update on him .he has no heart beat and had a survival rate of 1 to5 percent they have him hooked up to everything possible next 24 to48 hrs crucial.
Jean
January 7, 2019 at 9:58 am
How very sad. This young man was a classmate of my great niece. They have started s Go Fund Me Page to assist with funeral expenses. The father is the sole income into the house and will be taking time of work. Please help this family through this tragedy.