Suspect Found after Fall into Green Lake
Shaker Heights law enforcement recovered a man who fell into the lake while fleeing from authorities
A cordoned off Green Lake drew neighborhood attention. “I went outside and took a video,” freshman Zach Lehner said.
Shaker Heights emergency crews found the body of a suspect they believe fell through the ice on Green Lake while fleeing from the police. The Shakerite does not know the condition of the man at this time.
The Northeast Ohio Scanner tweeted “Shaker Heights: Technical Rescue, Andover Rd & S Woodland Rd. Crews searching for someone in the lakes or drainage tunnels. Unable to locate person, calling for dive team” at 1:20 p.m.
At 2:35 p.m., their latest tweet stated, “Rescue crews have found the body.”
The police department confirmed the search, stating, “Police and fire personnel received information someone may have fallen through the ice at Green Lake,” on their Facebook page.
According to Fox 8 News, Shaker Heights Police Chief Patrick Sweeney confirmed that the suspect was being chased by law enforcement when he fell through the ice. Sweeney said the man was recovered, but unconscious and not breathing, and was taken to the hospital.
Calls to the SHPD requesting information about the suspect were unanswered.
Local resident Jennifer Lehner, who lives across from the lake, responded to an Onaway Community Organization Facebook post, saying that police asked her for possible video surveillance but she had none available.
Lehner’s son, freshman Zach Lehner, did not see the man on the ice, but he found out about the police search from his mom. “I was in the dining room studying, and I looked out and there were like 12 cop cars,” he said. “I went outside and took a video.”
Senior Sarah Moran said her family told her about the commotion across from her house. “I came home, and my dad said that the cops were going at the ice with axes,” she said.
Moran and her family are able to safely walk on the edges of the lake — at times, they’ve had sleds speed down the hill in their backyard and accidentally slide out onto the ice — but the surface is much thinner in the center. “The water runs faster in the middle,” she said. “It makes sense that he fell in.”
