What began as a routine father-son bonding experience Monday ended in tragedy when both died after falling through thin ice while fishing on a lake in Highland Township, Mich. David Michael Lyons, 30, and his son Jackson Lyons, 4, were both about 10 feet from the shore on Alderman Lake at 10:37 a.m. when the incident occurred, reported the Detroit Free Press. How the incident actually played out is unclear, however, with two nearby fisherman saying they saw the pair fall in, while one of them reportedly alleged that David went in after Jackson, but failed to save him.
Rescuers, including dive teams, "quickly" arrived on the scene, using rope from the boat ramp about 350 feet away. They managed to pull the pair out 15 minutes after they had been submerged in 8-12 feet of frigid water. The two were rushed to nearby Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital where they were pronounced dead around 1:45 p.m.
The pair's situation had been complicated by the fact that not only were they both not wearing personal flotation devices, but they were wearing snowmobile suits, which become heavier in water. In light of this, Assistant Fire Chief Richard Cole said people should always wear a life preserver if they intend to do anything on the lake ice.
In a news release about the incident posted on Facebook, the Oakland County Sheriff's Office warned about fishing on frozen lake ice, especially after the abnormally mild weather experienced this winter left temperatures in the 40s.
Please, Please, Please presume ice is unsafe. Our weather has been such that predictable hard frozen ice is not...
Posted by Oakland County Sheriff's Office on Monday, February 1, 2016
In the meantime, authorities are investigating to determine how exactly they fell, according to Fox News.
"The traverse out was fine, fishing was fine, but the ice has pockets and flows, that's that we think happened," said Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard.
