Search ends for missing man after 4 drown in Michigan lake, including Texas boy
Four people drowned in Lake Michigan on the same day, after a search by Michigan authorities found the man who went missing.
South Haven Area Emergency Services said in a news release that it was called to a Lake Michigan beach in South Haven at 7:29 p.m. local time on Wednesday, July 13.
Officials reported that several people were struggling in the water. When officials arrived, they found several young women had been pulled from the water by family members and bystanders, the release said.
Two people were still missing: a 7-year-old boy from Texas and a 33-year-old man from Ohio, officials said.
According to the release, the 7-year-old “washed ashore” as rescue efforts began. They attempted to revive him and took him to a hospital where he died.
The search for the missing Ohio man continued, the news release said. Water conditions Wednesday evening were too dangerous for dive teams to search the water. By Thursday afternoon divers located the missing man’s body, another news release said.
The Ohio man may have tried to help the 7-year-old-boy, The Associated Press reported, citing authorities.
Around the same time Wednesday about 55 miles north, emergency responders in Ferrysburg were called for a water rescue, Wood TV reported, citing officials.
Officials arrived to recover the body of a 16-year-old boy from Michigan, Wood TV reported. The boy was visiting the beach with a church group.
Earlier in the evening, Ottawa County Sheriff’s Marine Patrol recovered the body of a 60-year-old man who had drowned, The Grand Haven Tribune reported.
According to South Haven Area Emergency Services, the southern beach had red flags, and the northern beach had yellow flags. Witnesses told officials that conditions at the lake “deteriorated rapidly before the incident.”
Yellow flags indicate that swimmers should “use extreme caution,” while red flags indicate a “dangerous surf” and “strong currents” that are unsafe to swim.
Van Buren County Sheriff Dan Abbott told The Associated Press that, “Unfortunately a lot of folks don’t pay attention to the red flags. You’ve got to stay out of the water when it’s rough like this and a lot of times it’s people who are not from the community. They don’t understand the undertow.”
South Haven is about 60 miles southwest of Grand Rapids; Ferrysburg is about 30 miles northwest of Grand Rapids.
This story was originally published July 14, 2022 at 10:34 AM with the headline "Search ends for missing man after 4 drown in Michigan lake, including Texas boy."
