Two harrowing stories of falling through ice

By Tony Bracken

Barcroft News Staff

Warnings of the hazards associated with the frozen lake appeared on the Lake Link this winter and with good reason. Two incidents from the past reinforce the necessity of being extremely cautious when venturing out on the ice. Thankfully, Mrs. Annette Oxley could recall details of both incidents and provided notes made at the time. She recently told the Newsletter, "The ice may be safe at times, but often there are soft spots that can make the lake very dangerous."

On Saturday, February 12, 1972, the Oxleys, while eating lunch in the kitchen of their home on Lakeview Drive, were surprised to look out and see two boys walking on the ice at the narrows between Ridgeway Terrace and Lakeview Drive. The Oxleys noted the danger, particularly the "rotten" ice and also soft spots from the thaw that weekend. Suddenly, the ice broke, sending the two boys into the frigid water. Mrs. Oxley wrote, "All four of us rushed to the dock to help the boys. My husband Court lifted the rowboat up over his head and threw the boat onto the ice, fortunately breaking the ice." Taking an oar from his 11-year old son Joel, "Court broke through the ice several chunks at a time" moving toward the boy furthest from shore.

Mrs. Oxley wrote that she "threw each of the boys ...cushion-type life preservers, which they grabbed immediately." Mark Oxley, almost 15 at the time, used his Boy Scout training by extending an oar toward the boy closest to shore and directed him to break the ice toward the oar. He finally reached it, and Mark and Joel pulled him out of the water. Court approached the other boy who screamed from the water, "I'm going to die." Ex-Marine Court hauled him onto the boat and made his way back to shore.

Both victims suffered from cold and fright. The Oxleys treated them for shock, warmed them with hot showers and gave them hot tea. The brothers were from Alexandria and had been visiting across the lake on Waterway Drive.

The second incident resulted in a much more serious consequence. On December 29, 1976, a little after 1 p.m., a 24-year-old man from Annandale who was walking on the ice fell through about 25-30 feet from the Ridgeway Terrace shoreline. Many residents from both sides of the Lake went down to the lake in hopes of rescuing the man. Mark Oxley threw two yellow, ball-shaped life preservers that inflated into rings when they hit the water. The police and fire departments arrived on the scene and launched a boat. Unfortunately, they did not reach the man in time. To the horror of all, the man drowned.