Matthew Duffiney

Matthew Duffiney helped save Charles Grenier from drowning, Cheboygan, Michigan, March 10, 2025. Grenier, 73, was riding his utility task vehicle across thin ice on the Black River when it broke through the ice and sank 13 feet to the bottom. Grenier unbuckled his seat belt and swam to the surface, where he clung to the ice and shouted for help in the frigid water. Duffiney, 27, property caretaker, and his friend, 28, were ice-fishing on the other side of the river and saw Grenier plunge through the ice. They jumped on the friend’s all-terrain vehicle, raced 600 feet, parked on thick ice, and then ran and walked another 300 feet across increasingly thin ice toward Grenier. As they approached, Duffiney crouched down and crawled on the ice to spread out his weight. Duffiney then reached out to grab Grenier’s hands, but the ice broke under him and he tumbled into the water head first, followed by his friend. In the water, Duffiney and the friend moved to either side of Grenier, grabbed his arms, and tried unsuccessfully to lift him onto the crumbling ice. As Grenier grew more lethargic from the cold water, Duffiney managed to crawl out onto the ice by himself while holding Grenier’s arm. Duffiney spread out on the ice on his belly and pulled Grenier toward him by his arm. At the same time, the friend pushed on Grenier from behind. The two men eventually pulled and pushed Grenier onto the ice, where Duffiney dragged him to safety on thicker ice. The friend was then able to claw his way out onto the ice. All three lay exhausted on the ice, but none was injured. They later recovered at the friend’s house.

2025-0000226-10521