A former Connecticut couple died in Cape Cod over the weekend when authorities believe they fell through ice while walking their dog on Valentine’s Day.
Kathleen “Kit” Boucher, 71, was recovered from the icy waters of Bee’s River near First Encounter Beach and later died about two hours after police responded to the area on the report of a wet dog that was roaming and appeared to be in distress, according to the Eastham Police Department in Massachusetts.
Multiple searches for her husband, 72-year-old Gerard “Jerry” Boucher, were unsuccessful and were called off after water conditions became dangerous, police said. They were expected to potentially resume this week depending on water conditions.
According to police, the couple was believed to be walking their dog when they fell through the ice of the river. An officer who responded to the loose dog report shortly before 9:10 a.m. heard a woman screaming for help before finding Kit Boucher in the icy water, police said.
The officer went out onto the ice to try to save her but fell through when the ice gave way, leading to both of them becoming submerged, police said. A second officer who arrived also went onto the ice and fell into waist-deep water when the ice gave way, according to police.
Both officers were able to get back to shore, as crews with the Eastham Fire Department arrived and initiated rescue efforts. The police officers were taken to Cape Cod Hospital.
The Barnstable County Technical Rescue Team and Dive Team responded to the area where divers entered the frigid water in search of Kit Boucher, police said. During the rescue efforts, authorities learned that Jerry Boucher had likely fallen through the ice before police arrived.
Kit Boucher was found under the ice and pulled from the waters just after 11:10 a.m. She was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police.
The couple had known each other since they were 15 years old and were high school sweethearts at Northwest Catholic in West Hartford. Kit Boucher — who attended Central Connecticut State University — worked for 20 years as a “beloved” kindergarten teacher at Bugbee Elementary School in West Hartford, according to Superintendent of Schools Paul Vicinus, Jr.
“West Hartford Public Schools is deeply saddened by the tragic news of the passing of Kathleen “Kit” Boucher and her husband Jerry earlier this weekend in Cape Cod,” Vicinus said in a statement.
“Kit had a profound impact on her students and the school community; her loss is deeply felt well beyond Bugbee,” Vicinus said. “Our thoughts and prayers remain with the family during this very difficult time.”
According to Vicinus, Kit Boucher retired from teaching in 2008. The couple moved to Cape Cod full time about 18 years ago after Jerry Boucher retired from Connecticut Natural Gas.
They were well-known in the Cape community and could very often be found walking their black lab around Bee’s River. According to town records, they owned a home on Lucinda Court about 2 ½ miles from the river.
“This is such a tragedy in so many ways,” Massachusetts state Rep. Steven G. Xiarhos wrote in a post on Facebook. “A loving couple. A family shattered. A running community grieving. An entire town shaken.”
According to Xiarhos, the couple were “both part of our Cape Cod Athletic Club, a wonderful group of friends and fellow runners from all over Cape Cod.”
“If you run on the Cape, chances are you knew them or saw them,” Xiarhos said. “They were always out there, always moving, always together. They loved this place. They loved the beaches, the water, and their dog. They loved life and they loved each other.”
In a statement issued to CBS News and other media outlets, the couple’s daughters said their family is “devastated by the tragic loss.”
“We are deeply grateful for the heroic efforts of the first responders in Eastham,” the daughters wrote. “We are thankful for the outpouring of love, and appreciate the privacy and discretion the community is extending to our family during this unimaginably difficult time.”
According to police, the search for Jerry Boucher, which included a remotely-controlled underwater vehicle, was called off for darkness on Saturday around 5 p.m. and continued on Sunday morning. Crews walked along the shoreline and used a drone to conduct an aerial search for about two hours, with police saying they would wait for a change in ice conditions to continue the search.
Police said they conducted an extensive search of the area on Tuesday which involved multiple agencies, including firefighters, dive teams, multiple drones and the Massachusetts State Police air wing unit. The 5 ½ hour search wrapped up after the incoming tide returned large amounts of ice to the area.
According to police, officials would be monitoring ice conditions with additional searches possible this week.