TRAGEDY:
Boy drowns in Coudersport

A 10-year-old Coudersport boy drowned in a private pond on New Year's Eve. Officials identified the victim as Blake Dunn, the son of Roy Dunn and Marie Diebel, East Second Street.

His body was pulled from the former Othmer's Pond, along Ross Street near Coudersport High School, at about 1:25 am Tuesday.

According to one responder, the boy had frequently played at the pond and nearby Mitchell Park. A neighbor told officials he saw the child walking across a bridge toward the pond at about 5 pm.

Unable to locate Blake after he failed to return from running an errand, his mother contacted police early Monday evening.

Hours later, investigators spotted a snow shovel and a winter jacket far across the pond. The victim had apparently shoveled snow to create a path on the ice until he reached an area about 25 feet from the far shore.

Ice in that section was thin, due to a mountainside spring that feeds the pond.

Searchers spotted Dunn's body partially submerged near the area where he apparently fell through the ice. Potter County Coroner Kevin J. Dusenbury Sr. listed the cause of death as drowning.

"It's just a terrible tragedy," Dusenbury said. "He was just a little 10-year-old boy. It's so sad."

Othmer's Pond is on private land, just east of the intersection of Ross Street and Park Avenue. The property has had several owners since it was occupied by a prominent inventor, the late Dr. Donald Othmer.

Several decades ago, the pond was a popular public gathering place, serving as a community ice skating rink. In more recent years, owners had limited public access to the property.

One emergency responder said that the current owners had warned area children - possibly the victim among them - not to venture onto the ice because it was not thick enough.

Coudersport Area School District, which reopened from the holiday break on Thursday, provided Dickinson Mental Health grief and crisis counselors at the elementary school this week. Teachers contacted as many parents of the fourth-grade students as they could reach prior to the resumption of school.

Faculty members also met and agreed to review with their classes safety issues associated with winter activities.

Blake W. T. Dunn was born April 21, 1997, in Buffalo, N.Y. The family moved to Coudersport last summer.

He was a fourth-grade student at Coudersport Area Elementary School, a member of 4-H, and a Sunday school student at Calvary Baptist Church. Among survivors are three brothers and four sisters.