The ice gave way under Charles Grenier on the Black River in Cheboygan, Michigan.

It was February 17, 2025. Grenier, 73, had been ice skating when he plunged through thin ice into water about 130 feet from shore. The river was freezing, and the opening around him was unstable.

Matthew Duffiney was nearby.

Duffiney was 47 years old and worked as a county undersheriff. According to the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission, he saw Grenier in the water and responded.

Getting to him was the first problem.

The same ice that had failed under Grenier stood between Duffiney and the opening. Crossing it meant trusting a surface that had already shown it could not be trusted.

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Duffiney moved across it anyway.

As he neared Grenier, the ice broke beneath him, too. Duffiney fell into the water about five feet from Grenier.

Now both men were in the river.

Duffiney worked through the cold and moved toward Grenier. He helped pull him onto the ice. From there, he moved Grenier farther away from the opening and toward the bank.

The rescue was not finished once Grenier was out of the water.

Ice rescues are unstable even after the first pull. A person may be exhausted, cold, and unable to move effectively. The ice may continue to crack under shifting weight.

Duffiney dragged Grenier across the ice toward shore.

Others nearby helped complete the effort once they were close enough.

Grenier was taken to a hospital and treated for hypothermia.

Duffiney was also treated for hypothermia.

Both survived.

The river did not become safe after the first break. It remained the same surface, only now with two men exposed to freezing water and a narrow path back.

Duffiney did not stop at reaching Grenier.

He kept moving him away from the hole.

Matthew Duffiney crossed unstable river ice to reach Charles Grenier, fell through the ice himself, then helped pull Grenier out of the freezing water and dragged him toward shore.

That is what he did.

It is worth noticing because the rescue required entering the same danger that had trapped Grenier. The ice had already failed once, and it failed again under Duffiney.

He still kept working on the problem.

A man broke through the ice. Duffiney crossed it, went into the water, and helped bring him back.

That changed what happened next.

If you saw someone fall through ice near shore, would you cross toward them or wait for rescue equipment?