Woman Drowns Trying To Save Dog From Frozen Pond

A woman drowned in an icy pond while trying to save her dog in Wyoming on Saturday. The incident took place when the mother of three was walking her dog at a park close to her house.

Tracy Cashman, 38, was walking her dog Lola at the park when the canine, which was off-leash, ran out and fell through the icy pond. Cashman ran behind the dog to save it and accidentally fell through the ice.

The dog escaped and returned home soaking wet.

“The dog came back and she didn’t and I figured she was just looking for the dog so I waited and I guess I waited too long," said Jerome See, Cashman’s boyfriend, Fox 17 reported.

The family then went to the park in search of Cashman. When they couldn’t find her, they contacted Wyoming Department of Public Safety for help.

"There’s no lights over there and we looked and we looked and then we finally called the police," said Rhonda Moore, Cashman’s mother.

Police officers and firefighters reached the park and they found Cashman’s body under the ice. Fire crews attempted a cold water rescue, however, she was already dead.

“It didn’t take them that long. They actually drove back there with their big lights and they could see where she had gone through the ice and they found her shoes, so they knew that she was there,” Moore said.

Cashman has a son aged 19 and two daughters aged 18 and 12. Moore said she was concerned about her grandchildren.

"I worry. She's got two daughters and a son that now they have no mother. It's rough. She was everything to them,” she said.

Calling Cashman a large-hearted person, her mother added, “She wasn’t foolish. You know what? She acted on instinct because she had such a big heart."

"Whether it was her dog, someone's dog, a child - she would do it without instinct. It was a quick trip. She didn't have her jacket, didn't take her phone. She must have let the dog off her leash and the dog ran out in the back pond on the ice,” her mother continued, WXPI reported.

Cashman worked at a school for 15 years prior to her death. On Monday, her school declared half day holiday in her honor.

“It is with deep sadness that we inform you of a recent loss to the Godfrey-Lee Public Schools community. Ms. Tracy Cashman, employee and parent, passed away Saturday night due to an accident. Because of this sudden loss, GLPS will have a half-day on Monday, December 10,” the school wrote in a Facebook post Sunday.

School District Superintendent Kevin Polston said, “She also had a big heart for kids. She was quick to notice a student that needed a smile or an extra hand. Students found her to be a trusted friend at school that they could count on when they needed her,” NBC-affiliated television station Wood TV reported.

The family created a GoFundMe page to help cover Cashman’s funeral costs.