Utah deputy punches through frozen pond to rescue boy

NEW HARMONY, Utah — A sheriff's deputy in southern Utah punched through a frozen pond on Christmas Day to rescue a drowning 8-year-old boy.

Washington County sheriff's Lt. David Crouse says the boy was chasing his dog Monday evening when another child saw him fall through the ice on a pond in the town of New Harmony, north of St. George.

He says sheriff's Sgt. Aaron Thompson broke a path through the ice until he was close enough to dive in and grab the boy about 25 feet from the shoreline.

Crouse says the boy was airlifted to a hospital in St. George, where his condition has not been released.

The deputy also has been hospitalized with cuts and bruises and symptoms of hypothermia. The extent of his injuries wasn't immediately known.