An Indiana man died this week after falling through the ice while skating on a pond, police said.
Edward Ihnat, 50, was skating with a friend on Wolf Lake around 10 p.m. Wednesday when they both fell through the ice.
The friend was able to get out of the lake and call for help from the nearby Illiana Yacht Club, but Ihnat went under the water. Authorities said it took firefighters 20 minutes to find the man.
Ihnat was pronounced dead at 12:41 a.m. Thursday at Franciscan St. Margaret's Health hospital, according to the Northwest Indiana Times.
Neighbors describe the victim as "energetic" and "well-liked."
"He was he was just a kind of around town guy. He never went beyond the city limits of Whiting and Hammond," neighbor Mel Hobbs said.
Authorities warned people about the dangers of thin ice.
"I would stay off the ice for now. It hasn't been cold enough," Hammond Fire Chief Jeff Smith said.
