Ogden family mourns loss of 14-year-old son who fell in ice pond
Jan 29, 2025, 9:00 AM | Updated: Jan 30, 2025, 11:30 am
OGDEN — A family is heartbroken and in shock, as they mourn the loss of their 14-year-old son whose life was tragically cut short after falling through the ice at a nearby pond.
Sam Creel and a friend were at Glassman Pond on Monday afternoon when both fell through the ice. His friend managed to survive after being pulled out of the water by bystanders. Sam was later pulled from the water by emergency workers and airlifted to Primary Children’s Hospital where he passed away.
“I lost my buddy,” his stepfather Nathan Gidley said. “He touched so many lives.”
According to the family, Sam didn’t know how to swim.
“One of the [bystanders] got out there and got [his friend] and tried to get Sam, but Sam couldn’t swim,” Gidley said.
Sam was autistic but had great goals and loved people according to his family.
“He was so nice and friendly to everybody,” his mom Liana Larsen said.
“He wanted to help people. He wanted to be a cop. He loved buses and trains,” Gidley said.
“He had autism but with his autism, he had so many good quirks. He was so funny, he knew so much about school buses,” his older brother Landon Creel said.
His family says they don’t believe Sam realized just how dangerous it was to walk on the ice.
“He had a hard time sensing danger. He always had since he was a baby,” said his mom.
A Spotfund account has been set up to help the family with funeral expenses.
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