A mother describes the tragic moment three of her sons fell through an icy pond, despite her efforts to save them.
The bystander who helped pull the woman from the pond says he did what anyone would do for someone in need.Authorities say three young brothers died after falling into a frozen pond north of Bonham. The community is now mourning and rallying to support their family.
across the street from a house where they were staying near Bonham, authorities said Tuesday. Their mother said she jumped into the freezing water but couldn’t save them. “They were just screaming, telling me to help them,” Cheyenne Hangaman told The Associated Press. “And I watched all of them struggle, struggle to stay above the water. I watched all of them fight.”The brothers died on Monday after falling into the private pond north of Bonham, a rural community of about 10,000 people near the Oklahoma border, the Fannin County Sheriff’s Office said. First responders and a neighbor pulled the two older boys from the water and the youngest sibling was recovered after an extensive search of the pond, according to the sheriff. Hangaman said she and her children had been staying at a friend’s house across the street from the pond, and that she’d warned them not to go near it. But, she said, on Monday her youngest daughter ran to tell her that her brothers were in the water. “I ran across as much ice as I could to get to them and eventually ended up falling in myself,” said Hangaman, who said the freezing water immediately shocked her body.Cheyenne Hangaman speaks to The Associated Press about the death of her three sons, who drowned in a frozen pond on Monday, Jan. 26, 2026, in Bonham, Texas. “I would grab one, try to put him on ice, but the ice just kept breaking every time I would sit him up there," she said."I would just keep trying to go to each one of them, trying to help them, and it was only me, like I couldn’t help them all by myself.”Hangaman said a man who came to help was able to throw her a rope to get her out of the pond. “I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t move," she said. “By that time, I knew that my kids were already gone. So I just had to try to fight for my life at that point.” Bonham Independent School District Athletic Director John Ramsey confirmed in a statement to NBC DFW that he was outside when he heard the call for help."I was nearby helping a neighbor when I heard someone calling for help and went to assist. Any person in that situation would have done the same thing," Ramsey said."I was simply close enough to help in a moment of crisis, doing what I hope anyone would do for someone in need." Ramsey said the family will need plenty of prayers as they deal with the loss of their sons and asked the community to come together to support them however they can. All three of the boys were in elementary school in the Bonham Independent School District, which had canceled classes on Monday because of the frigid weather that had swept across much of the U.S. The school district was also closed on Tuesday due to extreme weather conditions, including icy roads and freezing temperatures. “We are devastated by this unimaginable loss, and our thoughts are with the family, friends, and all who knew and loved these children," Superintendent Lance Hamlin said in a letter to parents.On Tuesday, a layer of ice still covered much of the small pond in a wooded area.
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