A cold water rescue in Miami County on Friday, January 12th, has turned deadly. Miami County first responders were called to the 25 thousand block of 215th Street Friday afternoon, advising them that two people had fallen off a boat into a pond. While they were responding, one of those individuals was able to get out on their own. The other person was struggling. The cold water rescue team from Johnson County Fire District #1 was able to pull 65-year-old Michael Motta out of the frigid water about 40 feet from shore. EMS performed life saving measures and both were transported to area hospitals. The man who made it to shore was in stable condition. However, Motta of Spring Hill later died from his injuries.
Both men were attempting to break the ice on the pond so that they could fix a fountain that had overturned, when their boat turned over throwing them into the water. A person on shore witnessed the accident and immediately called 911.
