SHELBY TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) — First responders were called to Eastwood Beach in Stony Creek Metropark around 7 p.m. Monday after a 13-year-old boy was found unresponsive in Stony Creek Lake.
First responders gave CPR on scene and the boy was rushed to the hospital but as of late Monday night, his condition was still unknown, according to Huron-Clinton Metroparks officials.
One witness says a handful of people went to help.
“I could hear a lady yelling for her child," Michael Griffis of Mt. Clemens said. "Being a parent, I could just feel.”
Griffis was at the beach with his fiance and three kids and says he ran into the water to help. He says another person found the boy underwater. Griffis estimates he was missing for five to 10 minutes.
“A lady that was on a paddle boat or canoe of some sort, she seen his bathing suit and she dove in and grabbed a hold of him," Griffis said. "Only thing she could do was basically flop him up on the boat.”
First responders including Metroparks police had rushed to the scene and performed CPR before rushing the boy to the hospital.
This marks the fifth time first responders in metro Detroit have been called to drownings-related incidents in just about three weeks. It's the second drowning.
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In neighboring Oakland County, the sheriff’s office says 10 people have drowned so far this year. The most recent happened Saturday in Kensington Lake where a 21-year-old man lost his life.
"It's been a hot summer and a fun summer for many but tragically, that activity has brought a lot of people, sometimes people who are not used to being on the water,” Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said.
“Before we got out of the car, we told our daughters to be safe, stay close to us because of the number of people who went missing or drowned," Griffis said. "Then turn around and this happens right in front of us.”
According to Griffis, the boy's mother and siblings also witnessed the incident. It was a tragic scene he’ll never forget.
“I feel for them as a parent," Griffis said. "It's actually really bothering me right now talking about it.”
