Mom Hears Her Son’s Cries for Help and Rushes to Pull His Friend from Icy Pond, Only to Fall in Herself

A woman helped prevent a frightening accident from turning tragic after a child fell into an icy retention pond in southeastern Virginia — an incident that comes about a year after a 12-year-old’s body was recovered from a pond in the same region.

First responders rushed to an apartment complex off Sellger Drive in Norfolk on the afternoon of Sunday, Feb. 1, after reports that a child had fallen into a retention pond, NBC affiliate WAVY and CBS affiliate WTVR reported.

A nearby mother, identified as Ms. White, said she ran outside after hearing her son cry for help because his friend had gone into the pond, according to WAVY.

“So once I get out here, I see the little boy in the opening right there, in that hole right there,” White told the outlet during an on-air interview, pointing out a hole in the ice. “He’s sitting up there with his arms on the ice, just kind of floating and crying.”

As White moved closer, she said she stepped onto a pipe and fell into the pond herself.

“I started on the side to try to work all the way around to the middle, … and I fell,” she said. “So once I fell in right there, that’s when I realized like, ‘Okay, let me try other measures before I get any further and break more of the ice.’ ”

White said she was careful not to break the ice while the child was sitting up.

By then, the boy’s father was also running over to help. White warned him the ice was thin, but he was able to make it across for about a minute before he fell in as well, WAVY reported.

“So at this point, [his] dad was able to get over to the front, and [he] grabbed him,” White told the outlet. “And he carried him over to me and passed him off to me.”

The three managed to get out of the retention pond, and White said she had her son bring a blanket for his friend while they waited for first responders, according to WAVY. The child was later taken to a hospital.

The rescue comes about a year after the body of 12-year-old Juan Sebastian Mejia Acevedo was recovered from a pond at an apartment complex in Virginia Beach on Jan. 27, 2025 — three days after he was reported missing. Officials later determined the child died from accidental drowning, CBS affiliate WTKR reported.