FERRYSBURG, Mich. (WOOD) — Emergency crews responded to a number of drownings in Lake Michigan and nearby channels on Wednesday, with at least three bodies recovered and a fourth still missing.
The first drowning happened around 7:30 p.m. at North Beach in South Haven. Five people, two adults and three kids, were struggling in the water, the Van Buren County sheriff told News 8. They were able to get two adults and one kid out of the water.
The young boy, who is around 7 or 8 years old, washed up on shore, the sheriff said. The sheriff says CPR was administered and he was brought to the hospital, but he died.
The sheriff said the adult, a 33-year-old man, had tried saving him. He is presumed to have drowned, the South Haven Police Department said in a release.
The sheriff’s office said the search for the man continued Thursday morning, with dive teams on the scene at North Beach in South Haven. The public is asked to stay away from the beach.
Police say the 33-year-old man is from Ohio and the 7-year-old is from Texas.
South Haven police say a red flag was flying by the pier and a yellow flag was flying to the north. Witnesses told police that the conditions at the lake had “deteriorated rapidly before the incident.”
First responders conducting a water search in North Beach in South Haven on July 13, 2022. (Courtesy South Haven Area Emergency Services) 
First responders conducting a water search in North Beach in South Haven on July 13, 2022. (Courtesy South Haven Area Emergency Services) 
First responders conducting a water search in North Beach in South Haven on July 13, 2022. (Courtesy South Haven Area Emergency Services) 
First responders conducting a water search in North Beach in South Haven on July 13, 2022. 
First responders conducting a water search in North Beach in South Haven on July 13, 2022. (Courtesy South Haven Area Emergency Services) 
First responders at the scene of a drowning in North Beach in South Haven on July 13, 2022.
At North Beach Park in Ferrysburg, a teenager started struggling in the water around 7:50 p.m., the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office said in a release. It said the 16-year-old from Norton Shores was at the beach with a church group. Deputies say while swimming, water conditions pushed him out of the designated swimming area.
Beachgoers tried to save him but were not able to reach him before he went under. Multiple agencies, including the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office dive team and the Coast Guard, were on scene looking for him, dispatch told News 8. First responders recovered his body.
Deputies say life-saving efforts were unsuccessful and the teenager died.
A 74-year-old Coopersville man also drowned Wednesday, according to the Grand Haven Department of Public Safety. It reports he drowned in the Grand River near Grand Isle Marina and deputies have recovered his body at 5:45 p.m. There is no evidence of foul play, officers said.
“The victim is presumed to have drowned, but we don’t draw final conclusions until we have all the information and complete an investigation,” said Jeff Hawke, director of public safety.
The Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office told the Tribune that investigators believe he fell off his boat at Grand Isle Marina and it was believed to be an accidental drowning.
