{"id":12022,"date":"2026-01-28T04:53:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T04:53:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/i-just-couldnt-save-them\/"},"modified":"2026-01-28T04:53:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T04:53:12","slug":"i-just-couldnt-save-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/i-just-couldnt-save-them\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I just couldn\u2019t save them\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">A Texas mother recounted the devastating moment she tried to rescue her three young sons who died after falling through an icy pond during a brutal winter storm.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Cheyenne Hangaman told local TV station Fox4 she \u201cjust couldn\u2019t save\u201d the boys \u2014 ages 6, 8, and 9 \u2014 who had wandered onto a frozen pond behind a friend&#8217;s house in Fannin County, located near the Oklahoma border, on Monday. She was alerted to the accident by the boys\u2019 sister, who rushed to find help.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cI start running towards the pond and I jump in and I try to save them \u2014 also trying to keep myself alive because the water is freezing,\u201d Hangaman told FOX 4. \u201cAs soon as I jump in, I like locked up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cI couldn\u2019t really hardly do anything,\u201d Hangaman said. \u201cIt was just one of me and three of them. And they were all needing me at one time and I couldn\u2019t \u2014 I just couldn\u2019t save them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Hangaman said she had warned her boys to stay away from the pond, but her youngest ventured onto the ice anyway and fell through. His brothers ran to save him \u2014 and plunged in after him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cThat\u2019s how they all ended up in there,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"A Texas mother recounted the heartbreaking moment she tried saving her three sons who died after falling into an icy pond (Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"640\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/erO_wJGYN6Ur2Bi6srU8gg--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0MDtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/the_independent_635\/b97312920f23305b74079fac3e49ae7e\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-0 size-full\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-3 right-3 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed bottom-0 left-0 right-0 top-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>A Texas mother recounted the heartbreaking moment she tried saving her three sons who died after falling into an icy pond (Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Hangaman said that a nearby man \u2014 the head football coach at Bonham High School \u2014 heard the chaos, raced to the scene and threw her a rope to pull her to safety.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Multiple agencies in the surrounding area also responded, according to a news release from the Fannin County Sheriff\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">With a neighbor&#8217;s help, first responders pulled the two eldest boys from the frigid water, provided medical aid and rushed them to a hospital by ambulance. The youngest was recovered after an extensive pond search.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cAll three children have been pronounced deceased,\u201d the release said.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"The brothers fell into a private pond near the Oklahoma border on Monday, the Fannin County Sheriff's Office said (Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"640\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/iLvUzNgm1R6LTB.AR6lbVA--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0MDtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/the_independent_635\/94e9d6a121c94405de1393582a9b9b67\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-0 size-full\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-3 right-3 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed bottom-0 left-0 right-0 top-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>The brothers fell into a private pond near the Oklahoma border on Monday, the Fannin County Sheriff&#8217;s Office said (Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Through tears, Hangaman shared heartfelt memories of her boys&#8217; vibrant personalities and favorite passions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cMy oldest one, EJ, didn&#8217;t care about nothing but football and getting his haircut,\u201d she said. \u201cCaleb\u2019s personality was out of this world. He was the sweetest soul I ever met. And Howard, he was just goofy. He liked to liven the party. He was hard-headed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">A FOX 4 anchor said that Hangaman shared her tragic experience in the hopes that other parents would heed the perils of the icy conditions. A GoFundMe has been set up to help cover the funeral costs. It has raised over $60,000 as of Tuesday evening.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The drownings happened amidst winter storm Fern, which battered much of the U.S., which caused over two dozen deaths and left thousands without power.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a ><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Texas mother recounted the devastating moment she tried to rescue her three young sons who died after falling through an icy pond during a brutal winter storm. Cheyenne Hangaman told local TV station Fox4 she \u201cjust couldn\u2019t save\u201d the boys \u2014 ages 6, 8, and 9 \u2014 who had wandered onto a frozen pond [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12023,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_daextam_enable_autolinks":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12022","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/07063c7d9c907011de04c9b5e6b746c4.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12022","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12022"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12022\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12023"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12022"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12022"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12022"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}