SOUTH HAVEN, MI (WHTC-AM/FM) – Even though National Weather Service officials in the Grand Rapids office at Gerald Ford Airport cautioned about staying away from the waters of Lake Michigan before dawn broke on Wednesday, apparently the message didn’t get to a family visiting the South Haven area from the northern Detroit suburb of Troy.
According to South Haven Area Emergency Services, first responders were dispatched to South Beach around 11:30 AM on a report that some jet skis had overturned in the choppy water, throwing their riders over. When they arrived, rescuers found four people in life jackets holding on to their overturned machines several hundred yards off shore.
A passing sailboat was able to help an adult man and a child, while responders went out on paddleboards to rescue an adult woman and child. One of the youths was taken to Bronson-South Haven for observation, while the other three were not hurt. No names were disclosed.
In the caution, NWS forecasters say a cold front was expected to come in by Wednesday afternoon, causing winds to create dangerous waves and currents from Manistee south to St. Joseph.
