Services set for mother, son who drowned in icy pond

UPDATE @ 8:20 p.m. 3/14/2015

Services are set for a mother and her young son who died Thursday after being pulled from an icy pond near their home.

A funeral Mass will be at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at Holy Angels Catholic Church, 324 S. Ohio Ave., Sidney, for 39-year-old Maurissa Bickford and 3-year-old Noah Bickford. Burial will follow at Sacred Heart Catholic Church Cemetery in McCartyville.

A visitation will be from noon to 3 p.m. and 4 to 7 p.m. Monday at Adams Funeral Home, 1401 Fair Road, Sidney.

Maurissa Bickford is survived by her husband, Tom, and daughter Kierstin Pemberton, her parents and numerous other relatives.

The family suggests memorial contributions be made to the American Breast Cancer Society, according to the obituary.

UPDATE @ 10:59 p.m. 3/13/2015

The deaths of a mother and son who died Thursday after being pulled from an icy pond have been ruled drownings, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office reported.

Noah and Maurissa Bickford were taken from an icy pond, unresponsive, near their home on Fort Laramie-Swanders Road in Franklin Twp. near Anna.

Officials are not sure of the specific circumstances surrounding the drownings but said it was apparent 3-year-old Noah went into the water and his mother, 39, went in after him. She managed to get him onto the ice but was unable to pull herself out.

“I can only imagine what she was going through when she saw her child in the water,” Lenhart said. “She went in after him, but there were no survivors, which is unfortunately, very, very sad.”

The two workers who discovered Bickford and her son reported to work Friday but were “very upset” and “shook up,” Shelby County Engineer Robert Geuy said, “wishing, like everyone else, the outcome could have been different.”

In the village of Anna, while not everyone knew the Bickford’s personally, almost everyone knew of the family. The tragedy is hitting hard in the tight-knit community, where one man said tragedies like this aren’t supposed to happen.

“When something like that happens everyone feels it. It’s heartbreaking,” said Anna resident Vicki Belt.

Bickford is survived by her husband, Tom Bickford, and their daughter, who is a fourth-grader in the Anna Local Schools. The superintendent said the school had counselors today to talk to the girl’s classmates, helping them to understand what their classmate is going through after losing her brother and mother.

UPDATE @ 1:10 p.m. 3/13/2005

The deaths Thursday of 39-year-old Maurissa Bickford and her son, 3-year-old Noah Bickford, today were ruled drownings.

UPDATE @ 11:27 p.m. 3/12/2015

A mother and son pulled from an icy pond this afternoon both died of their injuries.

The boy, 3-year-old Noah Bickford, was transferred by CareFlight from Wilson Memorial Hospital in Sidney to Dayton Children’s Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. His mother, 39-year-old Maurissa Bickford, was pronounced dead earlier this afternoon at Wilson Memorial Hospital, according to the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office.

Maurissa Bickford is believed to have gone into the pond to rescue her son. She was able to pull him out of the water and atop the ice, but apparently wasn’t able to get out.

Sheriff John Lenhart said apparently the young boy got away from his mother, and went out on the ice.

“She did what all moms and dads do: tried to rescue the child,” Lenhart said.

Noah Bickford was found on top of the ice while his mother was still in the water, unresponsive, by county highway garage employees Zachery Rogers and Samuel Deatherage who were working in the area around 2 p.m. The pond was located on residential property at the corner of Fort Laramie-Swanders and Scott roads in Franklin Twp., near Anna.

The county workers pulled the young boy to the bank and began CPR, but rescuers initially couldn’t get to Maurissa Bickford because the pond’s aeration system created an open area of water in the pond. She was pulled out by Sidney and Anna fire departments.

It is unknown how long both victims had been in the water.

Neighbor John Moeller, who lives next door, returned home moments after county workers found the Bickfords in his pond, which is a third of an acre and 10 feet at its deepest point.

“Always wanted it to be used for recreation and fishing and just enjoying, but something happened quite tragic today and it’s got me shook up,” Moeller said.

There was a neighborhood agreement, that as long as kids had permission and an adult present, they could go into the pond. But Moeller said he’d never seen young Noah Bickford at the pond before.

“Realize that life can be very, very brief, and we prayed for them and will really try to do what we can for the father and daughter that’s remaining,” he said.

Sheriff Jon Lenhart commended the county workers who found the Bickfords and attempted to save them without any safety gear of their own.

“They tried valiantly to save both the mom and the child,” he said. “You can see it when you talk to them … they were really shook, as they should be.”

The incident and cause of deaths remain under investigation.

UPDATE @ 5:50 p.m.:

A mother who rescued her 3-year-old son from an icy pond was unresponsive this afternoon when she was pulled from the water, according to the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office.

Both victims, whose names were not released, were taken to Wilson Memorial Hospital from the scene.

It is not known how long the child was in the water before his mother pulled him out. It’s also unknown how long the boy’s mother had been in the water, according to the sheriff’s office.

County highway garage employees Zachery Rogers and Samuel Deatherage were working in the area around 2 p.m. when they noticed a small child on top of the ice on a pond on residential property at the corner of Fort Laramie-Swanders and Scott roads. They pulled the child to the bank and performed CPR.

A second victim, the child’s mother, was in the water and not responsive. Rescuers initially could not get to her because the pond’s aeration system produced an open area of water. She was pulled from the water by Sidney and Anna fire departments.

UPDATE @ 3:25 p.m.:

A mother and child were pulled from icy water in Shelby County this afternoon.

Sheriff John Lenhart said they believed the child fell into an icy pond, and the mother was able to get him out and onto the ice. When rescuers arrived, they pulled her out of the water and performed CPR on both victims.

The incident happened sometime before 2 p.m. on residential property west of Sidney, at Fort Laramie-Swanders and Scott roads.

The child is believed to be a boy, between 3 and 4 years old, according to deputies.

Their conditions were not immediately available.

FIRST REPORT

Two people were rescued from icy water in Shelby County Thursday afternoon, after dispatch received a call of children falling through the ice.

Deputies were first on the scene just before 2 p.m. with multiple EMS units arrived shortly thereafter. Scanner traffic indicated that one person was reported laying on the ice, one in the water. Both victims were removed at 2:11. One victim was an adult and one was a child.

CareFlight was called to respond, then cancelled at 2:15, when the medics decided to take the victims by ambulance.

At 2:21, medics prepared to transport the victims, and told the dispatcher they did not believe there were any other victims in the water. They were leaving the scene and asking the deputies to continue to check.

We have a crew on the way and will update the story as soon as possible.