Officer Dies Trying to Rescue Teen Who Fell Through Ice

A double tragedy in Ohio: A 16-year-old girl died Tuesday night after falling through lake ice, and a police officer died in the rescue attempt. Ohio Department of Natural Resources police officer Jason Lagore fell in the lake after suffering a medical emergency, believed to be a heart attack, WLWT reports. Lagore was among the officers who responded after a 911 caller said a 13-year-old boy had been screaming for help at a private dock at Rocky Point Lake in Highland County. "I'm at Rocky Fork. I had some little kid come up to me and said his sister's in the water dead," the caller said. "He come running up to us saying, 'Somebody please help me, please help me.'"

Authorities said the 13-year-old boy also fell through the ice and tried to find his sister before he freed himself and sought help. He was hospitalized and treated for hypothermia. Divers pulled the body of a 16-year-old girl from the lake around 11pm, after she had been under the ice for more than four hours, Fox reports. Lagore, a 15-year veteran of the force who led its K-9 watercraft program, is survived by his wife and two young children. Flags at the Ohio Statehouse and other public buildings have been lowered to half-staff to honor him, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. "Officer Lagore acted with extreme courage to go to the rescue of these two kids; his example demonstrates the very highest valor," said Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost. (More Ohio stories.)