Trenton police use new tool to save man in ice rescue

TRENTON, Mich. (FOX 2) - A man out walking his dog took a frightening plunge through the ice into deep water in Trenton.

Thanks to the quick action of police - he survived - and so did his beloved dog after falling through the ice Sunday afternoon. It was all thanks to a new tool police used. 

"I love this guy. He's a good boy," said John Grantham.

Trenton police body cam video captured the moment officers arrived to the canal at Elizabeth Park.  Police officers told Grantham to keep his feet up, lie flat and kick.

"It was about 50 degrees that day but the water was freezing," said Trenton police Lt. Mike Hawkins.

They were called there after Grantham tried to rescue his German Shepard, Lobo, who chased a goose onto unstable ice.  

"I got right to him and I just went under," he said.

Grantham shimmied out on his stomach after him and in the process of pulling Lobo to safety, he traded places with him. 

Adding to the urgency of the situation is the location of the water rescue. The man was found well off shore, clinging to a piece of ice in water that ranges from 14 to 18 feet deep.

"My arms are all scratched up from just holding on," Hawkins said.

About a minute later police arrive with a brand new tool: a water rescue throw bag. 

"They threw a rope out to me and I grabbed it and they pulled me out of the water," Grantham said. 

The main reason police have these throw bags is due to another water rescue in Trenton back in December, when an officer boarded a kayak to save someone whose car had broken through the ice.

After that, purchasing the rescue rope flotation devices were fast tracked.

"Within the first week or two of getting these in, we've already saved a life and it's come in handy and helped out the community," Hawkins said.