Rice Lake (OnFocus) On Sunday, December 8, 2019, at approximately 9:33 pm, Officers were dispatched to a residence in the City for a missing child. The caller advised the front door was open and the child could have been missing up to 30 minutes.
Rice Lake Police Department posted an urgent message to their facebook page asking for volunteers, “We are looking for any able bodied volunteers to assist searching the area. If you are able to assist, please dress for the cold weather and bring flashlights.”
Officers responded to the scene and began searching. Fire Department and EMS personnel arrived and many citizens assisted in the search. Law enforcement K9 units and a drone were also deployed in an attempt to locate the child.
At approximately 10:55 pm, an officer using a thermal imaging tool located the child unresponsive in the Red Cedar River. The child was quickly rushed to a nearby ambulance and subsequently transported to a hospital where lifesaving attempts were unsuccessful.
