A family is in mourning after their 14-year-old son died after falling through an icy pond in Utah. He was one of two who fell through the ice. The other fortunately survived and is expected to recover.
The incident happened on Monday, January 27. Authorities quickly responded to the call sending an emergency dive team to try to rescue the two teens. Two others had been fishing at the pond and saw the 14-year-old and his friend go into Glasmann Pond. They had broken through the ice.
The two fishermen quickly rushed over and used their fishing poles to try to rescue the 14-year-old and his friend. Sadly, they only managed to pull his friend out of the water. 14-year-old Samuel Creel died from his injuries. Search and rescue managed to retrieve him from the pond, but the teen died at the hospital.
He was a 9th-grader at South Ogden Junior High School. His family remembers him "loving big brother" who "also liked playing video games, working on computers and the outdoors."
14-Year-Old Dies
My sister loves her sons with all her heart and I feel her pain and sorrow," Creel's aunt wrote on a fundraising page. "We are all still greatly in shock and want to be there for her and everyone in our family who has had the pleasure of knowing and loving Sammy."
It's a difficult time for the family. His stepfather also spoke out with KJZZ about the 14-year-old. He said that Creel told his family he was planning to spend time with a friend. They had no idea he was planning to go to a pond.
He was so smart. Always just pulling in information, whether it was a device, or a computer or school — asking questions. He wanted to help people. He wanted to be a cop so he could help people," stepfather Nathan Gidley said.
His mom, Liana Larsen, "I'm going to miss him so much."
Meanwhile,Ogden City Deputy Fire Chief Mike Slater said it's best to stay away from icy waterways. Slater said, "Sometimes, you may get some snow on top of the ice and it can be deceiving. It may look thicker than it is. Like I say, you never know where the flowing water is."
