Woman dead, husband missing after couple falls through ice near Cape Cod

A woman died after falling through ice near Cape Cod, and police have been unable to locate her husband, after the couple went walking on a frozen river with their dog on Valentine’s Day.

Local police received a call shortly after 9 am Saturday about a dog that was “wet and appeared to be in distress” near the beach. According to a report by the Cape Cod Times, an officer responded and ran toward the sound of a woman screaming. He attempted to save her but fell into the Bee’s River as well. A second officer tried to pull both from the river but also fell through the ice.

Both officers were able to return to shore and were taken to a hospital.

Rescue divers recovered the woman’s body around 11 am, and she was pronounced dead at the scene. First responders later learned her husband had also fallen through the ice. A crew from the  Barnstable County Technical Rescue and Dive Team searched for him until 5 pm, also using a remote vehicle to assist their efforts. The search continued on Sunday morning before being suspended.

"We returned this morning with some drone equipment to search the shoreline and over the ice and nothing has been found at this time," Eastham Police Chief Adam Bohannon said Sunday, according to WCVB. "The conditions are so difficult with the ice out there that we are suspending the search at this time. We will probably return again for a drone check overhead but no further searching at this time."

Authorities have not yet released the couple’s identities, saying they want to notify family members first. Officials believe the husband may have fallen through the ice first. It remains unclear what happened to the dog.