Family shares memories of ice rescue

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - A 12-year-old boy has been hailed as a hero after he helped save his eight-year-old sister who had fallen through ice.

Dale Buuck, the father of Tony and Sammy said his family was physically fine after many terrifying moments on Saturday but that everyone continued to deal with emotional stress over the ordeal two days later.

“You try not to do the ‘what ifs’ and just be thankful for the outcome, but it’s real scary when you think about how few seconds you had there that made a big difference,” Dale Buuck said. “If it had just been a few seconds here or there, it would have turned out a lot worse.”

Despite warnings and lessons about behavior around ice from her parents, Sammy Buuck ventured onto the pond behind her home Saturday afternoon. She fell through while her brother played basketball in the driveway about 50 yards away.

Tony heard his sister’s calls for help and ran onto the ice, falling in himself.  The children’s father rushed to the pond and was able to push Tony to shore not knowing the boy still held on to his sister who had gone underwater.

Listen to the entire 911 call:

“I’m very thankful that they were there to help me,” Sammy said.  “I’m just glad I’m okay and they’re okay too.”

Dale struggled with hindsight on Monday as he considered what steps he could have taken during the crisis. 

“I’m thinking, ‘call 911 now,’ but when you see your two kids in the pond, you don’t.  You just want to get out there… There are a lot of things we should have done differently but at the end of the day, we’re okay.  My son was absolutely a hero that day,” Dale said.

All three family members were treated and released from a hospital.