MARSHALLVILLE, Ohio — A heartbreaking 911 call came into a dispatcher in Wayne County at 10:40 a.m. Wednesday after a teenager fell through the ice on a pond and disappeared.
"Got a drowning," the caller said. "Okay, how old?" the dispatcher responded. After a brief pause, the caller said, "Sixteen."
According to investigators, Lamar Good went onto a pond on property owned by his family on Fulton Road in Marshallville to clear snow from the pond to go ice skating.
However, the ice broke, and the teen went underwater. According to Wayne County Sheriff Tom Ballinger, Lamar's 5-year-old brother was near the pond at the time, but he didn't fall in.
Firefighters in ice suits and dive teams did everything they could to save Lamar. They found the boy 30 to 40 minutes after he went under the ice, brought him to land and performed CPR. He died a few hours later at Akron Children's Hospital.
RELATED: 16-year-old boy dies after falling into icy pond in Wayne County
The incident brought back painful memories for Trisha and Joshua Hodge of Dalton.
"It's heartbreaking," Trisha said. "Just the pain that I know the mom and dad are feeling."
The parents understand that pain because they lost their 4-year-old son, Jenson, to a similar tragedy five years ago.
"He had a smile that as soon as you saw him, he would just light up," Trisha said.
In December 2019, Jenson wandered onto a snowy pond on a family dairy farm in Dalton, unaware that it wasn't completely frozen, and fell in.
His 6-year-old brother, Landon, ran onto the pond to save his brother, but also fell in.
Their grandfather, Todd Farriss, heard screams and went into the water.
Firefighters rescued all three of them, but Jenson died two days later on Christmas Eve.
"No parent should have to bury their kid," Trisha said.
To prevent other tragedies, the Hodge family teamed up with area firefighters for the Jenson Rope Rescue Project.
Since 2020, firefighters have handed out more than 60 free bags containing 75-foot-long ropes. The ropes are meant to be tossed to the drowning person.
Asked what kind of difference the ropes can make, Dalton Fire Captain Jason Stutzman said, "Between life and death. This could mean saving a life or having a tragic accident."
Stutzman said the ropes are stored in PVC pipes and are staked to the ground near lakes and ponds.
On Thursday, he gave News 5 a demonstration, tossing the rope behind the Dalton Fire Station.
"Simply toss it to the victim and then you will instruct the victim to wrap the rope around their arm and then you will pull the victim in," he said.
All of the rope kits have been purchased through community donations.
The Hodge family, who have leaned on their faith over the loss of Jenson, is imploring people to take advantage of the project and get the free ropes.
"That's exactly what this is, God using this as a way to turn something horrible into something very good and potentially life-saving," Joshua said.
"Safety is so important and protecting our kids and watching out for them," Trisha added.
Anyone interested in getting a rope bag should contact the Dalton Fire Department at 330-600-5838.
