Ice House Carbon Monoxide death

From Pioneer Press:http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/4751485.htm

A 13-year old girl was found dead in an ice fishing house on Elm Island Lake, and authorities said Monday they suspected she died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Aitkin County Undersheriff Scott Turner said Alizabeth Leathers, of Aitkin, was unresponsive when her father discovered in the fish house about 6:45 a.m. Sunday.

Turner said Alizabeth and her 11-year old brother, Jerome, had spent the night in the house, which had a gas heater. She was pronounced dead at the scene. The boy was airlifted to Hennepin County Medical Center, where he was in critical condition Monday.

The Ramsey County medical examiner’s office was scheduled to perform an autopsy on the girl Monday to confirm the cause of death.

Elm Island Lake is about five miles southeast of Aitkin in central Minnesota. Turner said it’s common for people in the area to spend nights and even weekends in fish houses.

Alizabeth was an eighth-grader at Aitkin High School. Al Albertson, the assistant principal, said his school’s crisis management team met Sunday and with teachers Monday. Grief counselors and peer helpers were called in.

“I think, as always, when you lose a classmate, the students are feeling a great loss. There’s a lot of sadness,” Albertson said. “Our perspective is to help students deal with the grief and get through it. It’s a tough time of year with the holidays going on. … Anytime this happens it’s a tough time, but especially now.”

I was going to post something about this, but wasn’t sure how to go about it. Billy and Sandy the parents of these two young precious children are friends of Bob and mine. We were informed of this by a friend of the family last night. If everyone would take a minute to say a prayer for the Leathers family and their son clinging to life in the hospital it would be greatly appreciated.

This terrible tragedy should come as a reminder of the potential dangers of poorly vented or air tight fishhouses and propane stoves. All the details are not in yet but before spending your next night out on the lake take the time to check out your stove and venting to make sure its clear of obstructions and operating properly.

Our prayers go out to the Leathers family.

Tim + denise Hukriede

Terribly sad news. Consider my prayers added. I can’t imagine the strain this puts on a family, especially nearing the holidays. My heart sinks just considering it.

My prayers are here too. God bless.
Dave Hoggard

Amen

So sad ! So sorry to hear of your friends tragedy. Prayer said !

Richard

Yesterday we attended the services for Alizabeth Leathers. It was a very difficult time for me personally as I have known the father Bill most all of my life…..I had the pleasure of getting to know Alizabeth last deer hunting season, as we hunted together. Bill often took the kids fishing and hunting.

Yesterday I learned of the amazing recovery of Bill’s son Jerome ( Craig ) this past week we did not hear much from the media of his condition. The doctors did’nt give much hope for him as he had been exposed to such a large amount of carbon monoxide.
Well all our prayers were answered as Craig has made a full recovery. He attended the service along with his family.

Thank you for all your kind thoughts and prayers.

You have to give praise and thanks to the Lord for the fast recovery [sounds like a miracle when he was almost gone] of the brother involved. This is always hard to deal with no matter what time of year. Our prayers are with them all.

Bobber,

I know it’s hard to find even the slightest of comforts amid confusion and questions. We, as a species, are very inquisitive and seek understanding and answers, mostly for the bettering of all our tomorrows. But the more we discover, the more we find that there is much more than just our fragile existance and that we’ll never conquer it all, not even the understanding of it, let alone any control over it.

I believe in destiny. I believe in fate. And I believe in a God that controls both. It’s hard to understand what good could come of our sufferings but submitting our trust can provide a peace that surpasses all understanding and the assurance that all will be answered one day. He was watching over both of the children, one was called home, and one’s destiny has yet to be fulfilled, but it’s still hard to grasp why we should find any reason to rejoice in His decision. All we can do is trust.

Not to impose upon anyone’s personal believe system, this is just the way I deal with things and I only speak with the intent to touch the hearts of those so stricken by this passing.

Eternity’s a long time………….it’s worth investigating.

My best to you Bob and that your heart will mend well in good time.

The Kid