On January 12, 2003, S/Sgt. Normand Boucher rescued a man and a woman after their snowmobile broke through the ice of the Rideau River in Manotick, Ontario. Alerted by the victims' cries for help, Mr. Boucher grabbed a ladder and ran to the river. Crawling on the ladder he had placed on the thin ice, Mr. Boucher made his way to the frantic victims. He managed to pull the woman from the water and drag her to shore. He then returned to the hole and, although numb from lying in several inches of freezing water, made numerous attempts to remove the man from the icy river. Despite the ladder sliding farther into the water as the ice started to give way, Mr. Boucher held onto the victim until others arrived with a rope and pulled them to safety. Regrettably, the man did not survive the ordeal.