Three brothers — ages 6, 8 and 9 — died in Texas during the massive winter storm gripping the U.S. after falling through an icy pond across the street from a house where they were staying, authorities said Tuesday.
The brothers fell into a private pond Monday north of Bonham, a rural community of about 10,000 people near the Oklahoma border, the Fannin County Sheriff's Office said. First responders and a neighbor pulled the two older boys from the water and the youngest sibling was recovered after an extensive search of the pond, according to the sheriff.
Their mother, Cheyenne Hangaman, told FOX 4 television station that she tried to save her sons after their sister ran to tell her they were in the pond. She and her children had been staying at a friend's house across the street from the pond.
“I start running towards the pond and I jump in and I try to save them — also trying to keep myself alive because the water is freezing,” said Hangaman, who added that her body locked up as soon as she jumped in.
“I couldn’t really hardly do anything,” Hangaman told the television station. “It was just one of me and three of them. And they were all needing me at one time and I couldn’t — I just couldn’t save them.”
Hangaman said a man who came to help was able to throw a rope to her to get her out of the pond.
All three of the boys were in elementary school in the Bonham Independent School District, which had canceled classes Monday because of the frigid weather that has swept across much of the U.S. The school district was also closed Tuesday due to extreme weather conditions, including icy roads and freezing temperatures.
“We are devastated by this unimaginable loss, and our thoughts are with the family, friends, and all who knew and loved these children," Superintendent Lance Hamlin said in a letter to parents.
On Tuesday, a layer of ice still covered much of the small pond in a wooded area.
More than 40 deaths have been reported in states affected by severe cold.
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Stengle contributed to this report from Dallas. Associated Press writer Kathy McCormack contributed to this report from Concord, New Hampshire.
