North Texas Community Mourns 3 Young Brothers Drowned in Icy Pond
Bonham, Texas, USA – January 29, 2026
CJ Global is a heavy and deeply personal look at the human cost of the extreme weather event we have been tracking.
It focuses on the tragic loss of three young brothers in North Texas, a story that has become the emotional epicenter of the national winter storm crisis.
“I Watched Them Fight”: North Texas Community Mourns Three Young Brothers Drowned in Icy Pond Tragedy
The “I Watched Them Fight”: North Texas Community Mourns Three Young Brothers Drowned in Icy Pond Tragedy has left the small town of Bonham, northeast of Dallas, in a state of profound shock and collective grief today, January 29, 2026.
On Monday, as record-breaking arctic air gripped the region, three brothers—ages 6, 8, and 9—lost their lives after falling through the thin ice of a private pond.
North Texas Community Mourns Three Young Brothers Drowned in Icy Pond Tragedy serves as a devastating reminder of the hidden dangers posed by the massive winter storm system that has now claimed over 50 lives across the United States.
Key Headlines of the Texas Tragedy:
• Fatalities identified as brothers Howard Doss (6), Kaleb Doss (8), and EJ Doss (9).
• Tragedy occurred while the family was staying at a friend’s house during the storm.
• Mother Cheyenne Hangaman’s heroic but unsuccessful attempt to rescue her sons.
• Bonham Independent School District (BISD) provides counseling for grieving students.
• Regional authorities warn of “deceptive” ice thickness on private bodies of water.
The heartbreaking events unfolded on Monday afternoon off Recreational Road 3, just outside of Bonham.
Cheyenne Hangaman, a mother of six, was staying with her children at a friend’s house when the three boys went near a pond located about 100 feet from the residence.
According to Ms. Hangaman, the youngest boy, 6-year-old Howard, attempted to “ice skate” on what appeared to be a solid surface.
When the ice gave way, his older brothers, Kaleb (8) and EJ (9), immediately leaped into the freezing water in a desperate, selfless attempt to save their sibling.
Ms. Hangaman described a scene of “unimaginable horror” to local reporters.
After being alerted by her youngest daughter, she ran to the pond and jumped in.
“I tried to pick one up and put them on the ice,” she told CBS News Texas.
“It would just break and keep falling in. I tried to save them while also trying to keep myself alive, but as soon as I jumped in, my body locked up.
I couldn’t do anything.” She watched as her sons struggled and screamed for help, unable to reach them as the ice continued to crumble around her.
She was eventually pulled to safety by a neighbor who threw her a rope, but by then, her sons were gone.
First responders from the Fannin County Sheriff’s Office and local fire departments arrived to find a “desperate scene.”
Neighbors and a high school football coach had already begun rescue efforts. The two older boys, Kaleb and EJ, were eventually pulled from the water and rushed to a local hospital, where they were later pronounced dead.
The youngest, Howard, did not resurface and was recovered after an extensive underwater search.
All three were students at Bonham Independent School District, which had already canceled classes on Monday and Tuesday due to the severe weather—ironically keeping the boys home on the day of the accident.
The community reaction has been one of overwhelming support for the Hangaman family.
BISD Superintendent Lance Hamlin expressed the district’s devastation in a letter to parents, stating, “We are a strong community, and we will get through this together by supporting one another with compassion and care.”
Local churches and businesses in Fannin County have already begun fundraising efforts to assist with funeral expenses, and counselors have been made available for the boys’ classmates and teachers.
The grandparents of the boys, living in East Texas, described the brothers as “protective, smart, and full of life,” vowing to treasure the memory of their smiles forever.
As the “Bomb Cyclone” continues to move across the nation, safety officials are using the Bonham tragedy to warn others about the extreme risks of “recreational ice.”
They emphasize that even a seemingly thick layer can be structurally weak, especially in the South where temperatures rarely stay low enough for safe freezing.
This event, more than any statistic, has humanized the “85 Seconds to Midnight” (our 5th report) reality of 2026, showing how the convergence of extreme climate events and human vulnerability can result in the most painful of losses.
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