SOUTH HAVEN, Mich. — A child and an Ohio man are dead after a water emergency in Lake Michigan Wednesday evening.
The Van Buren County Sheriff's Office says deputies responded to North Beach in South Haven around 7:30 p.m.
They say three adults and two kids were struggling in the water.
Two of the adults and one child got out safely; however, the other child, a seven-year-old from Texas, washed ashore.
Emergency crews tried to save the child but couldn’t.
The sheriff’s office said Wednesday night that the 33-year-old man went missing in the water.
The man, Anthony Diehl from Beaver Creek, Ohio, was found dead the next day, according to South Haven Area Emergency Services (SHAES).
SHAES says Diehl's body was found about 50 yards west of the South Pier.
The city of South Haven Police Department says at the time of the incident, North Beach had a red flag flying by the North Pier, which was closed, and yellow flags to the north.
According to the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project, there have been 54 drownings in the Great Lakes so far in 2022. 23 of those drownings happened in Lake Michigan.
Last year, there were 100 Great Lakes drownings, with 48 of those happening in Lake Michigan.
The Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project says there have been 1,100 drownings in the Great Lakes since 2010.
Michigan beaches can experience several types of rip tides, including rip currents, structural currents, channel currents, longshore currents and outlet currents.
If you catch yourself getting caught up in a current, your best bet is to flip, float and follow.
Flip, float and follow breaks down to flipping over onto your back, float with your head above water to conserve energy and then follow the safest path to safety.
