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Woman, 19, dies in icy pond

Man hospitalized in similar incident Sunday in Arvada

John C. Ensslin and Sara Burnett

Published December 3, 2007 at 12:30 a.m.

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Emergency personnel search a pond Sunday at the Buffalo Run Golf Course in Commerce City for a woman who fell in while trying to recover two dogs that ran onto the ice. The crew found her after about an hour of searching and flew her to Denver Health Medical Center, where she died.

Emergency personnel search a pond Sunday at the Buffalo Run Golf Course in Commerce City for a woman who fell in while trying to recover two dogs that ran onto the ice. The crew found her after about an hour of searching and flew her to Denver Health Medical Center, where she died.

Wallace was found after nearly an hour under water.

Wallace was found after nearly an hour under water.

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Doctors fought unsuccessfully Sunday to save a 19-year-old woman who spent nearly an hour submerged in a golf course pond after she fell through the ice while trying to rescue two dogs.

An Air Life helicopter rushed Laura Mae Wallace, of Thornton, to Denver Health Medical Center, but she died after surgery.

Her mother said she wasn't surprised her daughter died trying to save the animals.

"She was just that kind of person," Dolores Anderson, of Winslow, Ariz., said. "She'd do it for anyone."

The second of four children, Wallace was a fun young woman who went through a rebellious stage but was pulling her life together, her mother said. She was attending Front Range Community College and was scheduled to start a new job today.

"We were really proud of her," Anderson said.

A Metro Dive Rescue Team pulled Wallace from the water at the Buffalo Run Golf Course at 15700 E. 112th Ave.

Authorities were summoned to the scene about 10:30 a.m. after a couple from the nearby Greens at Buffalo Run noticed the dogs stranded on the partially ice-covered pond.

As the couple approached the water to throw a leash to the dogs, they saw Wallace in the water, Commerce City police spokesman Lt. Chuck Saunier said.

"They tried to throw some ropes to her, but she went under," he said.

Divers were able to rescue the two dogs, a Labrador retriever and a brindle-color mix. They searched the 24-foot-deep pond for about an hour to make sure that no one else had fallen in.

In a separate incident Sunday, a man and a dog were pulled from Tucker Lake in Arvada after the dog fell through the ice while chasing birds and the man went to rescue him.

Witnesses called 911. When the first firefighters arrived, the man had made his way halfway back to shore but had run out of energy, said Scott Pribble, spokesman for the Arvada Fire Department.

Firefighters were able to toss him a rope and pull both the man and dog to safety. Their conditions were not available late Sunday.

Capt. Dan Golden of the South Metro Fire Department and a member of the Metro Dive team urged people to be cautious when ice is thin. It's better to alert the local fire department, Golden said.

Comments

  • December 3, 2007

    11:07 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    rmnreader writes:

    The dogs owners should not only be fined to cover the cost of the emergency personnel but should also be criminally charged in the death of this girl. Dog owners need to have stiffer penalties for being so irresponsible. Maybe more penalties would discourage stupid people from owning dogs. If you do not have 100% control of your dog keep it on a leash - stop being lazy & walk your dog instead of unleashing them to get their energy out. A dog owner is responsible for the safety of the dog as well as the safety of any person who may come into contact with that dog. Having the companionship of a dog is a privilege not to be taken lightly. My condolences to the family of this fellow dog lover.