KENNESAW, Ga. — Editor's note: The video above is from an original report on this story.
Kennesaw officers were awarded after a rescue that involved two teens who fell into a partially frozen Kennesaw Lake, according to a Facebook post from the police department.
It happened in December 2022 when two 16-year-old boys fell into a lake near Ellison Lakes Boulevard in Kennesaw. Officers were able to save one teen but the other died almost a day later after being saved.
Kennesaw Police Department posted a photo including Officer Wheeler and Officer Arnold, who received the Cobb Chamber Public Safety Award of Merit.
During their rescue, the two removed gear to make themselves lighter, then hopped in the water. They got a hose to one of the teens and brought him to safety before being told another 16-year-old was in the water.
"Two boys in the water; one seemed to be holding onto the ice well. The other one, his head was going down and coming up," Allison Cerqueda, a neighbor, said during an interview following the incident.
That's when Officer Wheeler started navigating the ice again, but it gave way underneath, causing him to fall into the water. At that time, police determined the rescue was too dangerous to continue without proper gear.
Authorities never released the names of the teens involved.