SOUTH HAVEN, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – South Haven’s South Beach is closed for the Labor Day holiday due to hazardous conditions.
The South Haven Police Department says waves are expected to be four to six feet on Monday and red flags will be flying along the lake shore. Officials have barricaded the beach, trespassing signs have been posted, and violators will be prosecuted. It’s unclear when the beach will reopen.
This comes as crews responded to multiple rescue calls, despite the red flags warning beach goers not to go in.
In fact, officials with South Haven Area Emergency Services were dispatched to South Beach around 4:30 p.m. Sunday after a report of two men in distress at a buoy in the swimming area. First responders spotted a 19-year-old clinging to the buoy about 100 yards from shore and rescued the victim. The teen said his friend was apparently trying to swim back to shore when he went under and did not resurface.
Crews formed a human chain to search for the missing swimmer, a 19-year-old from the Jackson area. The Van Buren County Sheriff Marine Patrol and a Coast Guard cutter conducted search patterns but they had no luck and suspended their search on Sunday due to the hazardous lake conditions and darkness.
The search is expected to resume once the conditions improve.
This comes just a day after three people were rescued from the same area of Lake Michigan.
