The death of 14-year old Delvin Lesselle Jones, a Forest Glen Middle School student, continues to haunt many people including the Underwater Search and Recovery Team of the Suffolk Police Department. The youth died Friday, Jan. 25, after slipping beneath ice that gave way as he attempted to walk on it.

With the water a bitterly cold 29 degrees, the young man could have survived according to medical experts. He was in the seven-foot-deep murky water for only 70 minutes, a time well within the window of time said to be crucial in such incidents. There have been reports of people going into a state of suspended animation in cold water and they have survived even after being in the water for up to 12 hours.

Four of the six members of the Underwater Search and Recovery Team recently gathered to discuss the recovery process used in each and every dive they make, whether for a drowning victim, a vehicle, or weapon and evidence. Many times during the meeting, the four stalwart men, Suffolk Police Officers, spoke brokenly and several times nearly came to tears.

Lieutenant Kyle Holmes, the dive master for the team, said at least two dozen police officers, firefighters and rescue workers were immediately on the scene of the retention pond that’s back of the Colander Bishop Apartments on Brook Avenue. Holmes said the call came in to the 911 emergency communications center shortly after noon.

&uot;They went into the water immediately in their uniforms and street clothes as soon as they arrived at the scene,&uot; said the lieutenant. &uot;They were transported to Obici Hospital and treated for hypothermia.&uot;

Holmes added that when he heard the call from the police communications center he was in northern Suffolk, about 20 minutes away from the site of the accident. Immediately, he headed to the scene.

&uot;I was in the Town Point Road office that day and as soon as I heard that a child had gone into a lake, I started down,&uot; said Holmes. &uot;As I continued to listen to communications, the verification came that he was actually in the water. Officer DeBusk was also listening and an officer on the scene verified that there was indeed a break in the ice and that personal affects, a tennis shoe and a glove, were floating on the surface.&uot;

At this point the dive team converged on the site with the wind chill factor driving the temperature into the mid-teens.

&uot;Lt. Brandsasse, Capt. Larry Wilson and several other police, fire and rescue personnel were in the water trying to find the child,&uot; said Holmes. &uot;I saw Capt. Wilson coming out of the water and I immediately got into the back of the dive truck and got into my equipment. Officers DeBusk and Terrell arrived and began to dress out also. At that point, we began handing our gear down to firemen who took it down to the waterfront. Once we had our wet suits on and had our gear, we began moving toward the water. We had to use the wetsuits, face masks, air tanks and weight belts or we’d have been no more effective than those who tried to wade into the water to find the child.&uot;

So anxious to find the child, the officers abandoned their normal safety checks of suits, masks, tanks, flippers, and other items. Their only thought at that point, according to all, was to find the child.

&uot;I went into the water and I could feel the cold of it immediately, and my body began to seize up immediately,&uot; said Holmes. &uot;The suit began to pick up my body temperature and I was able to work through it and begin to move around. Diving is extremely stressful, even in good weather and good water. On this particular day, the water was 29 degrees. Cold enough so that metal equipment set upon the ground froze to the soil. There was broken ice everywhere and I wondered how it even remained liquid at that temperature.&uot;

Not only did the divers have cold to contend with but also the coffee with cream-colored water gave them no visibility whatsoever.

&uot;It’s bad enough that you are looking for a 14-year-old boy, all eyes are upon you, television helicopters are flying overhead, and you’re looking at a one-hour window to recover this child,&uot; said Holmes. &uot;We knew we had to find this child and we had to do it quickly or he’d have no chance at all. We skipped all our safety checks and went for broke.&uot;

Holmes said DeBusk was working the ropes for him and Terrell. As Terrell went into the muddy water first, he began dropping downward while Holmes followed closely.

&uot;It was lights out with absolutely no visibility,&uot; said the lieutenant. &uot;It’s very stressful but when you know there is a person lost, you work through it. You drop down into the darkness and cold, and you calm yourself down to do your recovery. On this dive, we had to drop down as fast as we could. We knew time was crucial.&uot;

Holmes said that over the years, more and more &uot;miracle&uot; rescues have taken place and revival is possible even when the victim has been in the frigid water for several hours.

&uot;In any type of operation, we were on scene within 50 minutes and we knew we had to work fast,&uot; said Holmes. &uot;God was in our favor. Terrell dropped down and was immediately almost on top of the child.&uot;

Terrell said he felt something next to him and reached out and found Delvin Jones’ arm. He determined the child’s position and picked the child up and began swimming toward Holmes.

&uot;I wanted to get that child out of the water as soon as possible,&uot; said Terrell. &uot;I knew we had to get him to rescue personnel as quickly as possible. Our goal was to save that child’s life.&uot;

Holmes said he could not see, but felt Terrell with the child.

DeBusk saw the officers bringing the body from the water and yelled to rescue personnel to get ready to receive him for treatment.

At this point, about 70-minutes had passed and the dive team feared the worst but came together as a unit to pray before God. Each of these officers has children and each was suffering for the child as if it were his own, they said.

Holmes began to choke up as he described the scene of dire misery at the site of the broken ice that was now breaking hearts.

Once the child was transported to the hospital, the divers packed up their gear and left to await word of the child’s recovery. It never came. DeBusk was at the hospital visiting a member of his own family when he heard of Delvin Jones’ death.

&uot;I made an effort to get an update on Delvin and I was not pleased with what I found,&uot; said the usually stalwart officer. &uot;I learned that despite all efforts to revive him, he had passed. I’m not sure what happened because at one point we were told that they had his heart and respiration going.&uot;

&uot;Every loss…especially when it’s a child is very significant,&uot; said the lieutenant as he swiped moisture from his eyes. &uot;Our response time and recovery time on that dive was a record for us. We’re not in the rescue business and the fact that we had divers in the water and actually made the recovery in an hour and 10-minutes after the call came in is an excellent time. We gave that young man a fighting chance for his life.&uot;

Holmes also offered praise for those brave souls who entered the water in uniforms and street clothing… no protective gear at all.

&uot;They were doing the best they could to find the boy,&uot; he said. &uot;They did all their human bodies would allow them to do in such bitter cold and icy water. But, we had to go beyond that and make a dive recovery.&uot;

&uot;Throw in the freezing water temperature, the 100 pounds of equipment and it’s incredibly difficult,&uot; he said. &uot;We went in and we got lucky. Unfortunately, we lost the child and we grieve for him and for his family. We all feel so much for this family and we offer our sincere condolences.&uot;