The underwater temperature probe at the MIT Sailing Pavilion, which Wood said is likely a foot beneath the surface, has not recorded freezing temperatures at all this winter, and Brunelle’s bodycam footage shows that the ice sheet was no more than a few inches thick. Ice needs to be at least three or four inches just to walk on according to ice fishing experts.

Some speculated online that it was Brunelle who had to be rescued, but he says that he was off the ice at around 3 p.m., 50 minutes before Cambridge Fire came to the river. He said he had no idea about the incident, and it’s not clear if the other person spotted on the ice has any connection to Brunelle. Cambridge Fire Department Chief Gerard E. Mahoney said in an email that the units investigated the scene after receiving a call about someone on the ice, but ultimately found nothing.