LAKE ST. LOUIS, MO (KTVI)-Two weeks ago, four teenagers spent their day off from school goofing around on one of the smaller lakes in the Lake St Louis area. They were sliding on the frozen water and taking pictures on their iPhones.

Two of the boys ventured out further. Suddenly the ice gave way. 

As each boy tried to rescue the other, all ended up in the frigid 40 degree water. John Smith sank to the bottom of the lake.

The boys describe how they felt like their bodies were in a box.  They couldn’t move from their necks down.

One boy managed to climb out.  Lake St. Louis firefighters arrived and pulled another teen to safety.  John was nowhere to be found.

Wentzville firefighter Tommy Shine arrived in his ice rescue gear.  He tells Fox 2 he felt as if John was talking to him and directed him exactly where to put a large pole into the water.  Shine felt around on the bottom of the lake for a body.  He immediately pulled up and up came John.  He didn’t have a pulse.

Rescue crews rushed John to the hospital.

John’s pastor tells Fox 2 that John’s mother prayed over her son in the emergency room and suddenly his pulse returned.

Everyone involved in the rescue describes it as a series of small miracles that lead to one big miracle.

John’s two friends, Josh Rieger and Josh Sander, described how emotional the last two weeks have been for them.  They say you don’t realize how close you can come to losing something until it happens.  All attend Christian High School in O’Fallon, MO.  They’ve grown up together and played basketball together.  The boys truly believe God helped get them out of the water and survive.

John is making a miraculous recovery.  Firefighters say the frigid water shut John’s organ down which is how he could live without air under water for 13 minutes.

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