Authorities said a man and two dogs were found dead Wednesday in an icy pond at Voice of America MetroPark after a morning search that drew fire, police and dive crews to the suburban park north of Cincinnati. The Butler County coroner ruled the death an accident and identified the man as 36-year-old Sun Yue.
Officials said the response began after maintenance workers reported signs that someone could be in the water. The case matters now because winter conditions have arrived in southwest Ohio and investigators are documenting what led to a drowning at a heavily used county park. West Chester Township and Butler County agencies are finalizing reports while the coroner completes routine postmortem reviews. No foul play is suspected, and officials said they are working to notify relatives and piece together the hours before the man and his dogs reached the shoreline.
Crews converged on the park shortly before 9 a.m. Wednesday after responders saw items near the water, including a cellphone, a dog leash and keys. Shoe prints led to the edge of the pond, the fire department said. Search teams entered the water around 8:50 a.m. “When we got here, we immediately put people in the water, search teams in the water, and we did recover a dog pretty quickly,” West Chester Fire Chief Rick Prinz said. Ice at the surface complicated the operation. He said teams used axes and sledgehammers to cut access points through “pretty thick ice” before expanding the grid search.
By late morning, officials called the coroner after divers located the man and a second dog. The Butler County Coroner’s Office later identified the victim as Yue and said the manner of death was accidental. The Southwest Regional Task Force One Dive Team helped recover the bodies from the park lake. A township spokesperson, Brianna Wooten, said the initial call came from park staff who spotted indications that someone might have entered the water. How long the trio had been in the pond remains unknown, and officials did not release the exact water temperature, the breed or sizes of the dogs, or whether anyone else witnessed the entry.
Voice of America MetroPark includes lakes that attract walkers and pet owners year-round, with paved paths running alongside the water. Freezing conditions this week left a crust of ice across parts of the ponds, a seasonal hazard across the Cincinnati region. Similar cold snaps in prior years have prompted rescues when people or pets ventured onto thin ice. The park sits just east of Interstate 75 near Mason and West Chester neighborhoods, and morning traffic typically brings joggers and maintenance crews before office hours. Wednesday’s activity shifted to a rescue and then recovery as more units arrived through midday.
Investigators said no criminal charges are expected. Standard steps include complete autopsy and toxicology testing by the coroner, which can take several weeks, and administrative reports by West Chester fire and police documenting the response timeline, staffing and equipment used. Park managers will review safety signage and incident logs as part of routine after-action work. Officials did not immediately release 911 audio or body-camera video and did not specify when a final incident summary would be posted. Any public-records releases will follow county procedures once reports are finished.
Yellow tape marked a section of shoreline Wednesday afternoon as divers and firefighters rotated off the ice, their gear steaming in the cold. Park workers kept visitors back from the path while investigators photographed the recovered items at the bank. The lake was quiet except for the sound of tools breaking through ice plates near the cut holes. A few onlookers watched from a distance, shaking their heads as trucks idled nearby. Prinz, speaking near the command post, praised teams for a “swift, coordinated effort” despite the ice and said additional updates would come once reports were complete.
As of Thursday evening, the coroner’s identification and accidental ruling were the only formal findings. Agencies are finishing paperwork and evidence logs, with autopsy and toxicology results pending. Officials said they would share any new details after next-of-kin notifications and records review are complete.
Author note: Last updated December 20, 2025.