There is a sad ending to the story that went viral locally about a deer stuck on the icy Genesee River. The deer was stuck on the river on Wednesday. People posted on social media, called the media and first responders begging for help. Two men decided to head downtown to try and rescue Bambi. Tim Seegler and John Zona thought the deer ran away. However, the deer returned to the ice on the river on Thursday. Police responded to the area after receiving a call that a person was going into the river. The Department of Environmental Conservation responded, too, and a decision was made to euthanize the deer because it posed a threat to public safety.
"DEC joined City of Rochester Police and Fire Department tonight in response to reports of a deer on the Genesee River just before the waterfalls. A joint determination was made during the initial deer sighting yesterday and tonight that there was no safe way to reach the deer because it was on unstable ice over moving water. Earlier this evening, due to an increased threat to public safety, DEC and local officials decided to humanely euthanize the animal following appropriate protocols," according to a statement from the DEC.