Deputy pulls drowning couple from frozen pond, but it’s too late, Illinois officials say

A husband and wife are dead after “an apparent ice fishing accident” in western Illinois, officials say.

Sean Chaney, 52, and his wife Dawn, 50, were fishing on a frozen pond at a farm near their home of La Harpe — a small town roughly 80 miles west of Peoria — in the afternoon on Feb. 4, the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

Around 3:44 p.m., the sheriff’s office said it received a 911 call saying a man and woman had fallen into the water and were drowning.

Help was on the scene in minutes, and a deputy went into the water and pulled the Chaneys out, according to the sheriff’s office. Life-saving measures were performed and the couple was taken to a hospital in Iowa for treatment.

“For several hours,” hospital staff tried to save the husband and wife, but both ultimately died, according to the release.

It’s not clear how the couple ended up in the water but “a full investigation into the incident is underway,” the sheriff’s office said.

This story was originally published February 6, 2023 at 2:15 PM with the headline "Deputy pulls drowning couple from frozen pond, but it’s too late, Illinois officials say."