Wyoming woman dies after falling through ice attempting to save dog
WYOMING, Mich. — The Wyoming community is learning about the sudden and tragic passing of a local school district employee after her body was found in an area pond Sunday morning.
According to Wyoming Department of Public Safety, 38 year-old Tracy Cashman was discovered unresponsive around 12:30 a.m at Battjes Park on Blandford Ave. Police say Cashman fell through the ice at the pond in Battjes Park while attempting to rescue her dog.
Police said Cashman was last reported leaving her Blandford Avenue house around 8:30 p.m. to walk her dog Saturday evening.
"It was a quick trip. She wore a light jacket, and didn't take her phone. She must have let the dog off her leash, and the dog ran out in the back pond on the ice," said Cashman's mother, Rhonda Moore.
Around 9 p,m., Moore said Tracy's Goldendoodle named "Lola" returned to the residence without Tracy.
"She came back without a leash and no Tracy," Moore said.
Since Cashman was known to frequent Battjes Park, family searched the area on their own before contacting police for assistance.
Upon their response, Wyoming officers and firefighters found Cashman's body in the park's pond surrounded by ice and performed a cold water rescue, yet Cashman was already deceased by the time they were able to retrieve her from the pond.
"Where she fell in, you step off and it just drops. I don't think she knew that and she probably didn't even think about that," Moore said.
Police said Cashman fell through the ice attempting to rescue her dog that had fallen through the ice during a walk.
"Tracy would never go on the ice for any other circumstances," Rhonda Moore, Cashman's mother, said. "But if the dog broke through the ice and the dog was struggling, she would save the dog."
Cashman is listed as an administrative assistant with the Operations and Transportation Services of Godfrey-Lee Public Schools.
The district announced classes have been cut short into a half-day for Monday, Dec. 10 for Lee Middle/High Schools, East Lee Campus, Godfrey Elementary and Godfrey-Lee Early Childhood Center. The district announced grief counselors will be available for students and staff.
"She loved her job, she loved everybody she worked with it, especially the kids," Moore said.
An autopsy is scheduled for Monday to determine Cashman's official cause of death.
