Tragic Accident: Three Brothers Lose Their Lives in a Frozen Pond

Tue Feb 03 2026 14:20:18 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

In a heartbreaking incident in Bonham, Texas, three young brothers died after falling through ice on a pond while playing. Their mother attempted to rescue them, but it was too late.

Three brothers, aged 6 to 9, tragically died in Bonham, Texas after falling into a frozen pond. Their mother, Cheyenne Hangaman, desperately tried to save them but was unable to reach them in time. The incident serves as a painful reminder of the dangers that cold weather can present, and the family is heartbroken by the loss. The community mourns as they remember the boys and offer support to their grieving family.

Three young brothers have died in Bonham, north Texas, after falling through ice on a private pond. Cheyenne Hangaman, the boys' mother, said she tried to rescue them by lifting them out of the water and placing them on the ice, but it kept breaking.

There was three of them and only one of me... that's why I couldn't save them, she told CBS News, the BBC's US partner.

She described her sons, aged six, eight, and nine, as full of personality and urged families to make sure that you hold your kids tight, always tell them that you love them.

Hangaman first learned of the accident when her daughter ran over to her, shouting that the boys had fallen in. The children had been out playing near the pond, about 100ft (30m) away from the house where the family had been staying. The youngest fell through first after trying to ice skate on the thin layer of ice on the water, and the two older boys jumped in after him.

While trying to save them, she began to struggle and was rescued by a neighbor, a football coach at the school the boys attended, who heard her screams. The local sheriff's office reported that the two older boys were pulled from the water, but the six-year-old was found later after an extensive search.

In a statement, the family announced the names of the boys: Howard Doss, six; Kaleb Doss, eight; and EJ Doss, nine. Their deaths come as a deadly winter storm impacted a large part of the US, leading to multiple fatalities and power outages.