Buck Dies After Rescue From Ice in Ill. River

Dec. 09--A young buck pulled out of the icy Des Plaines River this morning in Willow Springs did not survive, officials said.

The 300-pound buck was breathing after firefighters rescued it and brought it to an Animal Welfare League van waiting nearby. As the vehicle got closer to the organization's Chicago Ridge facility, the animal lost its heartbeat, said Terri Sparks, marketing and public relations manager for the Animal Welfare League.

"We were trying to do everything we could," said Sparks. "That hypothermia just swept in, and we weren't able to save him."

Firefighters got a call around 8:51 a.m. alerting them to the buck in the river near the Columbia Woods, said Chief Jack Mancione of the Tri-State Fire District, which is the fire and EMS service provider for Willow Springs.

Officials were unsure how long the buck had been in the water. When they arrived, authorities called for special equipment such as thermal suits and rope riggings, and jumped in.

But the animal became startled as the four firefighters neared it, and the buck started to swim away, Mancione said.

"He was afraid of the guys so he went deeper into the river," Mancione said. "He swam away from shore and started breaking through the ice."

The crew split up and surrounded the buck, forcing it to swim toward shore, officials said.

jmdelgado@tribune.com -- Twitter: @jendelgado1

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