Michigan man who fell into icy lake rescued after officer uses man’s dog to deliver rescue equipment

By Associated Press

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — A man who fell through the ice on a frozen Michigan lake was rescued after a quick-thinking state police officer used the stranded man’s dog to get rescue equipment to him and pull the man to safety.

Bystanders called 911 on Thursday after the 65-year-old Traverse City man fell through ice-covered Arbutus Lake, state police said.

The body camera worn by Michigan State Police Motor Carrier Officer Kammeron Bennetts captured the rescue, initially showing the man trapped in frigid waters with just his head and shoulders above the thin ice, and his dog standing at his side.

It shows Bennetts first trying to throw a rescue disc tethered to a rope out to the man. When it fails, Bennetts asks the man to send his dog to him.

“Send your pup here. Will she come to me?” he yells to the man, who replies that his dog’s name is Ruby.

“Ruby come here! Come here Ruby!” Bennetts shouts in the video before whistling for the canine, which runs to him and arrives tail wagging.

The officer ties the rescue disc to the dog’s collar and asks the man to call Ruby back to him. When she returns to her owner, Bennetts tells the man to take the disc from Ruby and to start kicking his legs.

“Bring your feet up to the surface by kicking your feet!” he yells, pulling the man onto the lake’s icy surface and urging him to hold onto the disc as he keeps pulling on the rope, dragging him onto safer ice near the lake’s edge. Bennetts and a local firefighter are then able to grab his arms to complete the rescue, with Ruby still attached to the rope.

State police said the man was taken by ambulance to a hospital for treatment and later released. The agency cheered the rescue in a posting on X, formerly known as Twitter, praising Ruby in particular.

“What a good girl!!! Amazing ice rescue from 7th District, MCO Bennetts. Creative thinking helped save a life!! EXCELLENT JOB MCO Bennetts and RUBY!!” the tweet states, adding, “Great team work and well done!”

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