Kevin Howell, 51, the town manager of Carmel, in Maine, was out walking with his son early on Friday morning, when they both fell through the ice covering Etna Pond, less than half a mile from their home, the Penobscot County Sheriff's Office said on Facebook.

Howell managed to get his son out of the water and onto the ice, and told him to get his mother, the sheriff's office said.

After the boy ran home and told his mother what happened, she called 911, before rushing to the pond with an anchor and rope to help her husband.

She tied the rope on the shore but also fell through the ice and couldn't get out.

The 911 call was heard by Penobscot Sheriff Detective Jordan Norton, who was in the area and responded.

The detective crawled across the "treacherous" ice, holding on to the rope as he went, and pulled the woman out.

Detective Norton got her back to the house where she was reunited with her son, but he could find no trace of her husband.

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Six divers from the Maine Warden Service and one from the State Police arrived, along with the Carmel Fire Department, and all joined the search.

The town manager's body was eventually recovered shortly before 2pm by two warden service divers, after searching for around 20 minutes, according to the sheriff's office.