LYNNWOOD – Terrified screaming in the dark prompted neighbors living on the shores of Martha Lake to launch a hasty rescue effort late Tuesday after two teens fell through the ice and plunged into frigid water.
A 15-year-old boy died, but his friend was saved.
“I’m very sad for the family that lost their son and very grateful that we were able to save the other one,” Jules Butler, 35, said.
The boy who died, Seth James, was a sophomore at Mountlake Terrace High School. He was enrolled in the Terrace Academy of Arts and Sciences.
“Extra counseling staff are on hand to help out both the staff and students with this tragic loss,” said Debbie Jakala, an Edmonds School District spokesman.
A Snohomish County sheriff’s diver found the dead boy about two hours after neighbors reported hearing cries for help coming from the lake about 9:20 p.m. Paramedics attempted to revive the boy, but he was pronounced dead at Providence Everett Medical Center, Snohomish County Fire District 1 spokeswoman Leslie Hynes said.
Jakala said another boy who was involved in the tragedy also is a student in the Edmonds School District.
A second teen who fell through the ice was in stable condition this morning at the hospital.
Butler, who lives in an apartment on East Shore Drive upstairs from Art and Margie Clemente, said he heard the teen screaming for help. The boy was shouting that his friend had gone under water.
With Margie Clemente’s help, Butler said he launched a canoe and began breaking his way through the ice to reach the struggling teen. His wife, Samantha Butler, meanwhile spoke to 911 dispatchers and shouted to the boy to hang on.
“I wanted to give him something to focus on and do,” she said.
Jules Butler said he had to use the canoe’s paddle to break ice and reach the boy. The teen was able to get into the canoe and he was rushed to shore, where he was given dry clothing and kept moving to keep warm until aid crews arrived.
The boy was scared but thinking clearly, Jules Butler said. The teen at one point took off one of his boots and placed it atop the ice where he had fallen in, marking the spot for rescuers so they could search for his friend.
People living on the lake said they watched with sadness and horror during the two hour search that led to the recovery of Seth James’ body.
Butler said he didn’t feel very heroic today.
“I couldn’t have lived with myself if I’d stayed on shore,” he said.
A technical rescue team, sheriff’s deputies and a volunteer search-and-rescue crew launched an elaborate search to for the missing teen, who was thought to have fallen through the ice about 50 yards off shore.
Their efforts were hampered by freezing and dark conditions. They used oars and sharp poles from nearby fire engines to break through ice. Rescuers estimated that the water was about 37 degrees and the ice was about three-quarters of an inch thick at its thickest point.
At its deepest point, Martha Lake is close to 50 feet. The area where the boy went through the ice is about 30 feet deep.
The boy was found near where he fell in, sheriffs spokeswoman Rebecca Hover said.
Also assisting in the search was crews from Edmonds Fire Department, Fire District 7, King County and Pierce County sheriff’s dive teams.
Herald writer Eric Stevick contributed to this report.
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