The icy conditions of a New Jersey bay have police concerned.
Barnegat Bay may look like it's frozen solid, but authorities say it's far from it and they're urging people NOT to walk on the seemingly frozen body of water.
“I can certainly tell you that it’s not frozen solid where one could try to walk on it,” said Detective Robert Burnaford of the Harvey Cedars Police Department.
The Department posted messages on Facebook and Twitter warning people to not walk on the ice, which appears to be thicker than it actually is.
“We’re trying to get the message out,” Burnaford said. “We’re also keeping patrols on the bayside areas just making sure no one goes out on the ice.”
They're especially concerned since it's been just under four years since a 12-year-old boy died in the bay's icy waters.
Daniel Licata and his 11-year-old friend were playing when they went through the ice. Licata was unconscious when he was pulled from the water. He died a short time later at a local hospital.
His friend was conscious when he was rescued and survived.
"It hurts. It’s a pain inside that you can’t repair,” said Licata family friend Carolyn Therrien.
Rick Mears told NBC10 his fishing boat got stuck in the ice while he was trying to maneuver it out of the Barnegat Light Marina.
"I was stuck in the end of my lagoon there," Mears said. "Took me two hours to bust the ice to just move the boat out of there. You don't want to try and walk on it and mess around with it because if you fall in this water, you're going to die."
