A 16-year-old girl died and a teenager was injured after they fell into an icy lake in Ohio, officials said. Jason Lagore, an Ohio Department of Natural Resources police officer who answered the call at Rocky Fork State Park in Hillsboro, also died after suffering a medical emergency, officials said.
Lagore fell ill shortly after responding to the incident, which was reported around 6:30 pm Tuesday. Authorities said it occurred on a private dock on a steep slope on the north side of Rocky Fork Lake in the 2,080-acre park in Highland County
The 13-year-old boy tried unsuccessfully to locate the girl before breaking free from ice and water, officials said. The boy was taken to a hospital for treatment of hypothermia, but no further details on his condition were released.
It took more than four hours for emergency teams to find the girl, who was trapped under the ice, officials said. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Authorities did not release the teenagers’ names or say whether they were related.
Lagore, a married father with two young children, was a 15-year veteran in the force and was responsible for his first canine training academy, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources said on Facebook.
“Please keep Officer Lagore and his family in your prayers,” said the department.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine ordered the flags to be raised at half mast in public buildings in Highland County and others in Columbus to honor Lagore.
The Highland County Sheriff’s Office and the Ohio Natural Resources Division were investigating the incident.
In a similar incident, two men were rescued after falling on the ice in the town of Tipp around 10 am on Wednesday. The men were in the water for at least 15 minutes before the emergency teams took them to safety, officials said.
Both men were taken to a hospital, but their names and other details about their conditions were not immediately released. No further injuries were reported in the incident.