Family mourns the loss of teen who fell through the ice at Glasmann Pond
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- This undated photo with a crowdfunding campaign titled “Aid for Creel, Gidley Family After Tragedy” shows Samuel Creel.
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- The entrance to Ogden’s Glasmann Pond, where two teens fell through the ice Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. One of the teens did not survive.
OGDEN — A family and the Ogden-area community continue to grieve the loss of 14-year-old Samuel Creel, who died after falling through the ice at Glasmann Pond on Monday afternoon.
Creel and a friend were walking on the surface of the pond when the ice gave way, sending both teens into the water. Per a KSL report, two other teenagers who were fishing at the pond — Major Nicholls and Jessie Johnson — managed to help one of the teens out of the water. However, Creel remained in the water for over two hours before rescuers were able to recover him.
The boy was airlifted to Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City but did not survive. The other teen is expected to recover after suffering mild hypothermia.
Crowdfunding campaigns to support Creel’s family have since been launched. The organizer of a Spotfund campaign shared a statement attributed to Creel’s aunt about the boy’s life.
“Sammy has lived with Autism his entire life. He was a loving big brother, who enjoyed spending time with his little brother. He also liked playing video games, working on computers and the outdoors. Samuel loves his toy police car and has expressed interest in becoming a policeman,” the statement read. “My sister loves her sons with all her heart and I feel her pain and sorrow. We are all still greatly in shock and want to be there for her and everyone in our family who has had the pleasure of knowing and loving Sammy.”
In addition to the Spotfund effort, a GoFundMe campaign is also accepting donations to benefit Creel’s family.
While the community continues to rally around the family, Lt. Will Farr of the Ogden Police Department also urged caution regarding ice safety.
“In the time of year when this happens, the ponds — and sometimes even rivers — can freeze up,” Farr told the Standard-Examiner. “But it’s important to be cautious. Even though it may look like it’s frozen and solid, oftentimes it’s not because of our changing weather. Utah will have freezing temperatures at night and start to warm up during the day; it softens the ice. So, I would say just be extremely cautious around ice and don’t play on the ice because it’s typically not going to be solid enough for you to be able to go out on.”
