Feb. 12--Led to a hole in the ice by a barking dog, rescuers in Powell pulled a 74-year-old man from a pond yesterday afternoon, but not in time to save his life.
Siegbert A. Allespach of Powell might have been submerged as long as 25 minutes before emergency responders found him in the pond in Meadowview Park in the Ashmoore subdivision, just east of N. Liberty Street, said Megan Canavan, Powell's public-information officer.
Allespach was taken to OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital, where he died about 5 p.m.
Canavan said Powell police and Liberty Township firefighters were called at 3:46 p.m. by residents whose home overlooks the pond. Their attention was drawn to the ice by Allespach's frantic dog.
"The dog was actually circling around his owner, barking really loudly," Canavan said. The residents saw what appeared to be a hat and flailing arms in the water, prompting them to call for help, she said.
Rescuers aren't sure what drew Allespach onto the ice but suspect that he might have been going after his dog, she said.
"There wasn't anyone who actually saw him walking onto the pond," Canavan said. "We're thinking that it was something in relationship to his dog."
The dog, described as a golden retriever mix, was coated in ice and snow but was not injured, she said.
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