A hero dad spent his dying breaths saving his 6-year-old son after they fell through the ice on an upstate New York pond — with the youngster then trekking two miles home to try to get help as his father and a family friend froze to death in the frigid waters.
Bryan LaPlante, 33, and his young son were returning from an ice fishing trip on Chaumont Pond in St. Lawrence County with their family friend Michael Booth, 48, on Sunday night when their snowmobile broke through the ice, police said.
The desperate dad managed to save his boy by lifting him out of the water — but was tragically not able to get himself out, a family member told WNNYTV.
The men told the frozen 6-year-old boy to “follow the moon” to get to his grandmother’s house and call 911, LaPlante’s sister, Paige, posted on Facebook.
The boy did just that, trekking two miles to reach grandfather Patrick LaPlante, 51, who rushed to the pond and spotted his son and Booth in the water.
The elder LaPlante crawled over the frozen pond toward Bryan LaPlante and Booth as they struggled in the water — only to fall through the ice himself, according to police.
He was able to climb out and save himself but lost sight of the two men.
State police rushed to the pond and located Bryan LaPlante and Booth, who were unresponsive and floating in the water. They plucked the two out and immediately began performing CPR.
Both were taken to Gouverneur Hospital, where they were pronounced dead.
The 6-year-old boy and his grandfather were taken to Clinton-Fine Hospital and treated for hypothermia.
LaPlante’s sister said on Facebook that her brother “died saving his son.”
“My nephew made it home because Boothy told him to follow the moon to get back to memes,” she said in the heartbreaking post.
“Every single person in this story was a hero. I have never been more proud of every single one of them.”