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13-year-old drowns at beach in South Haven

"Despite the rescue efforts, the 13-year-old victim was pronounced dead," South Haven police said.

SOUTH HAVEN, Mich. — A 13-year-old visiting South Haven with his family drowned in Lake Michigan Saturday afternoon.

South Haven Police said around 12:30 p.m. they responded to South Beach after receiving several 911 calls reporting multiple people struggling in the water. 

Within three minutes of getting the call, officers were on scene trying to locate the people. Bystanders told the first responders that one adult had been rescued by paddleboard but that one child was still in the water. 

About 22 minutes, the child was located on shore 100 yards south of the South Pier near Flag 11. CPR and other rescue efforts were initiated immediately, police said, and they continued while the boy was transported to Bronson South Haven. 

"Despite the rescue efforts, the 13-year-old victim was pronounced dead," South Haven Police said.

The teen and his family were from Ann Arbor. 

Witnesses told police the people has been swimming and started to drift further away from shore. They grew exhausted and were not able to swim back to shore. 

Saturday started with a green flag advisory from the National Weather Service. But the South Haven beaches updated the flag to yellow at 11:10 a.m. as the wind and wave criteria changed. 

South Haven police were assisted by the U.S. Coast Guard Air Support, the Van Buren County Sheriff's Department Dive Team and the South Have Area Emergency Services Rescue Boat. 

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