Nathan N. Smith died attempting to save Noel B. Smith from drowning, McArthur, California, December 19, 2009. Brothers Noel, 39, and Nathan, 32, electrician, were with another brother on the bank of an ice-covered arm of Big Lake. When Noel’s dog broke through ice at a point about 65 feet from the bank and fell into water about 10 feet deep, Noel went after the dog, but he too broke through the ice. Nathan obtained a metal fence post from nearby and crawled across the ice toward Noel, the other brother following him. Nathan extended the post to Noel, and he grasped it and pulled. To keep Nathan from being pulled forward, the other brother held him by his ankles. The ice beneath Nathan and the other brother gave way, and they too fell into the water. With difficulty, the other brother pulled himself onto solid ice, but by then, Noel and Nathan had submerged. Rescue crews arrived shortly and removed them from the water. They were taken to the hospital but could not be revived.
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