Sheriff: 6-year-old boy falls through ice, dies

AITKIN COUNTY, Minn. -- A 6-year-old boy died after falling through the ice in a lake near McGrath on Sunday afternoon.

The Aitkin County Sheriff's Office says the boy was next to a dock on a small lake normally used as an ice skating rink. A family member pulled him out of waist-deep water and he was not breathing.

There was 14 inches of snow on the ground at the time, which made rescue operations difficult, authorities say. Eventually they used a snowmobile to take the boy to an awaiting ambulance. 

The boy was pronounced dead around 2.5 hours later at a hospital.

The name of the boy will be released at a later time, the sheriff's office says.