O. Leonard Jeffers, 30, mine mechanic, died attempting to save John E. Carlin, 13; Taylor L. McCausland, 9, and Edwin W. Merchant, Jr., 11, from drowning, Bridgeport, West Virginia, January 2, 1953. John, Taylor, and Edwin broke through ice on Hinkle Lake into deep water 25 feet from the bank, making a hole 12 feet in diameter. They rose floundering in the hole. Two other boys hailed Jeffers, who was driving along the lake, and told him three boys had fallen through the ice. Jeffers, who was undergoing treatment for a painfull back ailment, alighted from his automobile and reached the bank within two minutes after the accident. By that time, Taylor and Edwin had disappeared beneath the surface. John was flailing his arms at the edge of the hole. Jeffers, who had not swum for five years and wore heavy clothing, stepped over a low retaining wall at the bank and immediately broke through the ice. He waded 15 feet from the bank and with effort swam to John, breaking ice with his hands. Taylor and Edwin had not reappeared. John took hold of the collar of Jeffers’s sweater. As Jeffers turned toward the bank, he suddenly sank, John releasing his hold. About a minute later John also submerged. Neither he nor Jeffers reappeared. They, Edwin, and Taylor were brought to the surface by firemen but could not be revived. 3835-42745
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