SPRING CREEK — Quick thinking and a random turn of events saved two children at the Spring Creek Marina on Friday afternoon when they fell through the ice dozens of yards away from the shoreline.
The children, believed to be as young as 8 and 12 years old, were spotted by a group of young adults playing Pokemon Go at the marina.
Jarett Carver, 21, Sequioa Passmore, 21, and William Pike, 21, had stopped at a bench swing along the walking path around the marina when they noticed the children playing on the ice about 40 to 50 feet to the right of island in the middle of the marina.
Passmore said she saw the children playing on the ice and expressed concerns to her friends.
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Then they watched as one child, then the other, fell in through the ice.
“It was terrifying,” Pike recalled. “We saw one of them drop. We screamed out that they dropped. The other one went close to him and dropped straight away.”
At that moment, Carver raced toward the children as Passmore called 911 for help.
“I didn’t give it a second thought. I just went for them,” Carver told the Elko Daily Free Press.
Pike saw Carver take off his jacket and throw it to one of the children to pull them out of the water. But as they pulled on it, the sleeve tore and he pulled out one child with his hands.
Then Carver himself fell through the ice, climbed out and pulled the second child to safety. He brought the children back to the shore.
Carver said his feet didn’t touch the bottom of the marina. The plunge into the cold water also took his breath away when he fell in, rendering him speechless until he was out of the water. “I know the kids were in way worse condition than I was.”
Once they were out of the water, Pike said the children were “terrified, crying and shaking,” with one child having “fully bloodshot eyes.”
Carver said he heard the ice cracking behind him as he ran toward the children, and thought about his own safety. But he pushed those thoughts aside.
“I’m a heavier-set guy, too, so it was a little scary, but I wasn’t going to let two little kids drown or anything, you know,” Carver said.
Pike said he attempted to follow, but he went through the ice himself and was unable to follow. He ran to a house for help and rope to get them all out.
Pike then raised the attention of an unidentified woman who was at the marina farther away. She drove her car to the group, allowing the children get in the car, remove their wet shirts and bundled them up with blankets until an ambulance arrived.
Carver, who emerged from the water with bloodshot eyes, was checked out by emergency medical personnel and did not require treatment.
The children appeared to be unsupervised, according to the three friends. A woman identified as mother to one of the children arrived and was “bawling her eyes out,” Pike said. A man, identified as father to one of the children, arrived as they were leaving.
The names and conditions of the children were not immediately known, according to Spring Creek Association President and General Manager Jessie Bahr. It was unclear if the children were siblings, relatives or friends to one another.
A Random choice
Carver and Pike were visiting Passmore for the holidays. Pike traveled from London and Carver came from Oklahoma. They all met through online gaming and have been friends for seven years.
Passmore, who lives in Spring Creek, said the decision to go to the marina on a sunny Friday afternoon was a “random” one, and a choice that may have saved the children’s lives.
Especially since the marina was practically empty at that time, the group said.
“We wanted to go and see if we could catch some Pokemons,” Pike said. “If we didn’t go down that route, there was no one else on the lake. No one [would have seen them].”
Even the woman who was nearby and drove her car to the rescuers told the group she thought it was Canadian Geese in the middle of the marina because she wasn’t wearing her glasses, Passmore said. “We were the only ones close enough.”
“We had the closest access to the water,” Pike added.
The Spring Creek Association issued a statement Friday evening warning residents not to walk onto the ice at the marina, regardless of how solid it may seem.
“Please do not walk out onto the Marina. The ice is unsafe and inconsistent across the entire surface. There are signs posted throughout the area to keep off the ice at the Marina and the duck ponds,” the statement read.
The thickness of the ice is not updated by the association and walking out on the ice at any time is not recommended. Rather, it says, “enjoy the area from the safety of the walking paths around the Marina.”
About an hour after the ordeal, Carver recounted his story as he warmed up under two blankets at Passmore’s house. He, Passmore and Pike all agreed that the ice is not a playground.
“Don’t let your kids play on the ice. It is not safe. Everybody knows that,” Carver said.
Pike said they noticed the ice was unsteady when they arrived. As they left the marina, they made an alarming discovery.
“We saw where they walked. They walked from the edge of the lake straight to the middle, walking around the edge where it’s the most thinnest,” Pike said. “If they fell in a minute earlier, they would not have been in view and there would have been nothing anyone could do.
“It’s not smart. It really isn’t,” Pike continued. “It’s not worth losing your life for a little bit of adrenaline or adventure. It’s not worth it.”
He added, “If a parent lost their child like that, that would ruin someone’s life.”
“I agree with what they said, don’t go on the ice. It’s really not worth it,” Passmore said. “People need to be careful, read to the signs that are posted everywhere and do not go on the ice. It’s a risky thing.”
Passmore thanked the quick response from the Elko County Ambulance and the Spring Creek Association who arrived quickly.
“A huge thanks to how fast the EMT got there. It was less than five minutes and they were there,” Passmore said. “I wish I had the lady’s name who brought her car. She was so wonderful.”
Carver, Pike and Passmore are all thankful the afternoon had a happy ending.
“I’m so glad those kids are OK. That’s the main thing,” Passmore said.
