KOSCIUSKO COUNTY — An off-duty Indiana State Police trooper helped save a boy Friday evening after he fell through the ice on a retention pond near Winona Lake.
Around 6 p.m., Trooper Jacob Bill saw a Winona Lake Police Department officer responding to an incident with his lights and sirens on, so Bill decided to follow and see if he could help, according to a press release from ISP. When they arrived near County Road 325 East and Wooster Road, bystanders were yelling and pointing to an 11-year-old boy in the water.
Bill ran into the water and swam out to the boy, grabbed him by the collar, and tried to get him back to shore, according to the release. WLPD Officer Dave Swain entered the water to help them when they got caught up in the broken ice.
WLPD Sgt. Joe Bumbaugh arrived and helped all three people get out of the water, according to the release.
The boy was taken to a local hospital, where he was treated and released, according to the release.
“I was just glad that I was in the right place at the right time," Bill said.
