SOUTH HAVEN, MI (WHTC-AM/FM) – The words from a statement by South Haven Police Chief Natalie Thompson said it best on Saturday: “Lake Michigan nearly claimed three souls today.”
Members of South Haven Area Emergency Services were dispatched around 2:30 PM when a woman was overcome by high waves along the shore near South Beach. She was unconscious and not breathing when she was pulled out by other beach goers, but was able to get the water out of her lungs and regained consciousness before being taken to Bronson-South Haven Hospital, where she was treated and released.
At about the same time, a man was swept off of the South Pier by waves. He was rescued by passengers on a passing boat, taken to the south side Municipal Marina, and was released after being evaluated by first responders.
Around 4:30 PM, a 15-foot unoccupied dingy washed ashore along North Beach. The Van Buren County Marine Patrol “by some miracle,” according to Thompson’s office, located the driver floating about a thousand yards offshore. The exhausted man, who didn’t have a life jacket on at the time, told deputies, before being taken to Bronson-South Haven Hospital for evaluation, that he had been knocked out of the boat “by powerful wave action,” according to Thompson’s office.
With a Beach Hazards Statement from the National Weather Service Office in Grand Rapids set to take effect through Sunday and into Monday, for the waters of Lake Michigan from Muskegon to South Haven, Thompson’s office used the Saturday statement to reiterate “Flip, Float, Follow” tips about surviving rip currents and strong waves: Flip over onto your back and float, keeping your head above water, in order to calm down from panic and fear of drowning, conserve energy, and follow the safest path to safety and out of the water.
“The City of South Haven wants to remind everyone not to underestimate the power of Lake Michigan,” Thompson’s office concluded.
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