EASTHAM — At 9:07 a.m. this morning, the Eastham Police Department received a report of a loose dog in the First Encounter Beach parking lot.
According to a joint statement from the Eastham police and fire departments, the caller reported that the dog was wet and appeared to be in distress.
An Eastham police officer arrived on scene and heard a woman calling for help near Bee’s River. The officer located the woman, who had fallen through the ice into the water about 30 feet from shore, and went onto the ice in an attempt to pull her to safety.
“While attempting to save her the ice gave way and the officer and the woman were completely submerged into the water,” the statement said. “A second officer arrived on scene and observed the officer that had entered the water attempting to pull himself back up onto the ice.”
As the second officer attempted to walk across the ice to where the woman had entered the water, the ice gave way and he fell into the water up to his waistline.
“Both officers were able to successfully make it back to the shore,” the statement from the Eastham police and fire departments said. “The Eastham Fire Department arrived on scene and members of the fire department immediately initiated rescue efforts.”
The two officers who fell through the ice were transported to Cape Cod Hospital for evaluation because they were exposed to the frigid water.
Divers with the Barnstable County Technical Rescue Team and Dive Team entered the water in an effort to locate the woman who had fallen through the ice.
At approximately 11:12 a.m., the dive team located the woman underneath the ice. She was pronounced deceased at the scene.
In a second statement issued this evening, Eastham Fire Chief Lisa Albino and Eastham Police Chief Adam Bohannon said investigators determined the woman’s husband had been with her at the beach that morning walking their dog.
“It was determined that the male subject likely fell through the ice prior to the arrival of emergency personnel and did not resurface,” Chief Albino and Bohannon’s statement said. “An extensive search continued for the next six hours including all on-scene personnel, multiple divers, and an underwater remotely operated vehicle. At approximately 5 p.m., all search operations were terminated for the night due to darkness. Additional search measures will continue tomorrow morning.”
The dog was found on the beach, taken to safety by the Eastham animal control officer, and later reunited with extended family.
The names of the victims are being withheld pending notification of next of kin, officials said.