The Grand River, a fixture in Michigan's landscape, was the center of a tragic incident last week as 28-year-old Miguel Angel Correa of Walker drowned while swimming. The Grand Rapids Fire Department, aided by bystanders, recovered his body by Friday afternoon, after a nearly day-long effort that began the previous evening. WZZM13 reported that the recovery was complicated by evening darkness, causing a suspension in the search until the following day.
Despite the valiant attempt of a bystander to rescue him, Correa was ultimately found in 7 to 8 feet of water. Authorities have been able to rapidly start the search again on Friday thanks to the direction given by the person who had attempted the rescue. According to FOX 17 Michigan, Grand Rapids Fire Marshal William Smith deemed the incident accidental and presumed drowning as the cause. Unfortunately, the efforts on Thursday had to be curtailed due to lack of light with search teams transitioning to recovery mode an hour and a half into the operation.
Multiple agencies, including the Kent County Sheriff's Office and Grand Rapids Police Department, were involved in the search and utilized a variety of technology including drones, boats, and underwater cameras. On Thursday, the search teams marked a location with a buoy for a more detailed investigation based on sightings reported by bystanders.
The discovery of Correa's body concluded the rigorous efforts of 21 firefighters from the Grand Rapids Fire Department, along with an Aero Med helicopter that assisted with the search. Officials continued to thoroughly comb the area until the recovery was made near the north end of Riverside Park. According to WWMT, rescue swimmers were successful in locating and retrieving the body to shore by 12:49 p.m. Friday.
Grand Rapids Fire Chief, Brad Brown, praised the bystanders for their support during the ordeal. "Honestly hats off to the bystanders that did try and help," Brown told WZZM13, acknowledging the crucial information they provided to the emergency teams. The Medical Examiner later confirmed the cause of death as asphyxia due to drowning.
