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Man who fell through ice rescued by his dog, state officer
The man had been in the water for 16 minutes before first responders pulled him out with help from his dog, Ruby.
GRAND TRAVERSE COUNTY, Mich. — After a man fell through the ice on a lake this week, a state officer got help from an unexpected hero: the man’s dog, Ruby.
The incident happened Thursday morning on Arbutus Lake in Grand Traverse County. A 65-year-old Traverse City man had been on the lake when he fell through the ice.
After bystanders called for help, Michigan State Police Motor Carrier Officer (MCO) Kammeron Bennetts responded and began working to rescue the man. Bennetts attempted to use a rescue disc, which is a frisbee-like disc used to rescue people in deep waters or iced-over lakes, but was unable to get close enough to the man due to the ice conditions.
Bennetts noticed the man had his dog, Ruby, next to him.
“Not knowing if she would listen to me, or not knowing if she would hear my verbal commands, I asked him and she perked up,” said Bennets. “So, I knew at least she could hear me.”
Bennetts called out to Ruby, who came to him. She initially wanted to play and did not take the disc, but Bennetts attached the rescue disc to Ruby’s collar and told the man to call his dog.
“She knew dad was in trouble and she knew she had to do something to help,” said Bennetts.
With the help of a Grand Traverse Metro Fire Department, Bennetts was able to pull the man out of the water and onto the ice.
He was then taken to a hospital for treatment and later released. Police say he was in the water for about 16 minutes. Bennetts said it appears he was originally on the lake checking the conditions of the ice for fishing purposes.
“[Ruby] was luckily able to ride in the ambulance with him, kind of to keep her warm too because she was wet,” said Bennetts. “And then, she was able to stay in the hospital room with them for a little bit too, which was fantastic.”
Bennetts said he has visited the man in the hospital, and he is doing well. He said Ruby has “a thank you hunting trip to get some birds out west” in her future.
The dramatic rescue was captured on the officer’s body camera, where he can be heard calling instructions to the man and working with Ruby to get help to her owner.
This comes as the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has been urging Michiganders to stay off the ice. While the plummeting temperatures have caused some inland lakes to ice over, the ice is not thick enough to be safe.
“We’re trained to do so many different things in so many different scenarios, but there’s some things that you really just can’t train, or there’s really just some scenarios that you can’t replicate to do,” said Bennetts. “So, spongy ice situation is one of those things where there’s really not much we can do.”
Bennetts said the combined high winds and snow prevented the ice from forming hard on Arbutus Lake, an inland lake in the Traverse City area.
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Last week, prosecutors charged John Sawchak with attempted 2nd-degree murder and other felony charges after he allegedly shot his neighbor Davis Moturi.
MINNEAPOLIS — Following the shooting between two neighbors, the Minneapolis City Council voted unanimously to request that the city’s auditor conduct an independent investigation into the incidents and cases between Davis Moturi and John Sawchak.
Moturi was allegedly shot by his neighbor, Sawchak, on Wednesday, Oct. 23 but Minneapolis police did not arrest Sawchak until days later.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara defended not arresting Sawchak sooner, calling it a “high-risk” situation. O’Hara later said the victim, who had complained about harassment from Sawchak for months, was failed by police. Sawchak was arrested this past weekend after an hours-long standoff.
Moturi suffered a fractured spine, two broken ribs, and a concussion in the shooting. “Mr. Moturi’s life matters and I’m sorry that for nearly a year, MPD did not treat it like it did,” said Council Member Robin Wonsley in a news release, “Today’s vote affirms that the City Council is committed to taking meaningful actions towards accountability and restoration, starting with this independent review.”
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey released this statement:
“Mayor Frey fully supports an independent review of this incident. The mayor and City are committed to always doing better, and this means closely examining past actions and finding where there may be ways to improve and grow. The mayor extends his condolences to Davis Moturi, his wife, Caroline, and their family and friends. The safety of our residents is a top priority and any form of violence or hate speech is completely unacceptable and does not align with who we are as a community. Brian O’Hara will continue to be the Minneapolis Police Chief.”
“This Valentine’s Day, 2025, will mark the five-year anniversary of the premiere of ‘Love is Blind,” Vanessa said on the Season 7 finale. “And, it is gonna be the launch of Season 8, which takes place in Minneapolis.”
The episode also revealed three of the new cast members, one of whom, “Alex,” told Lachey Minneapolis is “not like a major city, but it’s also not a small town,” which he said is just one of the obstacles in his way of finding the one.
“I just never found the right person that clicked for me,” he said.
Meantime, you can bone up on Seasons 1-7 streaming now on Netflix.
MINNEAPOLIS — How much do you know about your grandma’s upbringing?
“The Stories From My Grandmother’s Hands” is a book that aims to show young Black children how their grandmas lived through beautiful illustrations and descriptions.
KARE 11 News at Noon shared more on Thursday about the impact that this book will have.
