Hi Curlytop3
So sad to hear about the little hog. That must have been such a horrible shock for you to find it. It sounds as if you had tried to make it safe, but the sad thing is that even with the best will in the world, there will always be the occasional tragedy.
It sounds a good idea to put a new escape route at the other end of the pond. If it was mine, I think I would be inclined to put some down either side as well. You can never have too many escape routes! I hope some more hogs find you this year and manage to stay out of trouble. Good luck.
