A search-and-recovery operation has come to a close on Wabasis Lake, as crews located the body of a 62-year-old Greenville man who is believed to have drowned. The man, whose name has not yet been released pending the notification of his family, was initially reported missing yesterday after he went underwater during a swimming excursion and failed to resurface, according to the Kent County Sheriff's Office.
Family members and other individuals in the vicinity attempted to immediately locate the submerged man but were unsuccessful. The search efforts quickly expanded as local fire departments responded along with the Sheriff's Office Marine Patrol Unit and Underwater Search and Recovery Team, utilizing watercraft and drones to find the missing individual. Despite these efforts, the man remained unlocated as of 10 p.m. that evening, as reported by FOX 2 Detroit.
The search resumed this morning, and by noon, the man's body was discovered at a depth of 22 feet on the east side of the lake. The recovery was made possible through the use of sonar technology, which helped to pinpoint his location beneath the water's surface, subsequently confirmed through an underwater drone. Sgt. Scott Dietrich of the Sheriff’s Office highlighted the role of technology in the recovery, saying, "The final discovery came from the sonar on our boats … going over multiple patterns, passes with that sonar and locating him and then finally sending the divers down for the recovery," as told to WOOD TV.
In light of the tragedy, Sgt. Dietrich issued a reminder about water safety, particularly in regard to life jacket usage. "With the holiday coming up, the areas can be crowded. If you’re out on a boat, please wear a life jacket. If you’re swimming, as you can see with some of these drownings, it doesn’t discriminate with age. It doesn’t matter how old you are, if you’re a good swimmer. All it takes is one bad thing to happen and you can go down. We just want to remind everybody to be safe, make sure they’re taking every precaution that they can," he stressed, in a statement, per WOOD TV.
