Rip Current — Berrien, Michigan

2020-07-30 · Berrien, Michigan

Event narrative

Drownings occurred at 3 beaches along the Berrien County shoreline during the evening hours of July 30th.

At the New Buffalo City Beach, a 24-year-old male from Villa Ridge, Missouri went missing near the U.S. Corp of Engineers breakwall, while doing contract work in the area, police said. He was standing in shallow water when winds blew his hat into the lake, went in to retrieve it and got caught in the structural current/waves and could not get back to shore. New Buffalo police responded about 7:30 p.m. EDT on July 30th to search for the man. Waves about 6 feet high and strong currents hindered water rescue efforts, police added. Two officers were injured during the rescue effort, but are not recorded as injuries. His body was recovered on August 4th at 9:30 am EDT on the Michigan shore of the Village of Michiana. New Buffalo Police press release indicated currents/waves were both factors in the drowning.

A 44 year old male from Lakeville, IN drowned trying to rescue his two children from Lake Michigan at Lions Park Beach near St. Joseph, MI. His 17 year old son and 12 year old daughter were caught in the structural current near one of the many smaller breakwalls along the beach. He jumped in to save them but was unsuccessful. Another man jumped in to try and save the man, but ended up being rescued as well (no demographic info available, but USCG rescued him). The siblings were eventually rescued by a St. Joseph Reserve Officer. The father was eventually pulled out but was unable to be revived. Two other swimmers, a 22 year old female and 26 year old male from St Joseph, MI, were caught in a structural current a little bit further down the beach around the same time, and were rescued by a surfer who was able to swim out to them and tow them in on his surfboard.

A 13 year old girl was the third drowning for this date. She was reported missing while swimming just before 9 pm EDT at the Warren Dunes State Park. Unfortunately, her body washed ashore nearby the next day.

Wider weather episode

Dangerous swim conditions developed in the wake of a cold front that swept across the Great Lakes. Three lives were lost due to rip currents, with 6 injuries recorded from either rescues of other swimmers or injuries of first responders.

Drownings occurred at 3 beaches along the Berrien County shoreline during the evening hours of July 30th. At the New Buffalo City Beach, a 24-year-old male from Villa Ridge, Missouri went missing near the U.S. Corp of Engineers breakwall, police said. He was a contractor working in the area, police said. He was standing in shallow water when winds blew his hat into the lake. He went in to retrieve it and got caught in the structural current/waves and could not get back to shore. New Buffalo police responded about 7:30 p.m. EDT on July 30th to search for the man. Waves about 6 feet high and strong currents hindered water rescue efforts, police added. Two officers were injured during the rescue effort. His body was recovered on August 4th at 9:30 am EDT on the Michigan shore of the Village of Michiana. New Buffalo Police press release indicated currents/waves were both factors in the drowning.

A 44 year old male from Lakeville, IN drowned trying to rescue his two children from Lake Michigan at Lions Park Beach near St. Joseph, MI. His 17 year old son and 12 year old daughter were caught in the structural current near one of the many smaller breakwalls along the beach. He jumped in to save them but was unsuccessful. Another man jumped in to try and save the man, but ended up being rescued as well (no demographic info available, but USCG rescued him). The siblings were eventually rescued by a St. Joseph Reserve Officer. The father was eventually pulled out but was unable to be revived. Two other swimmers, a teenage male and female from St Joseph, MI, were caught in a structural current a little bit further down the beach around the same time, and were rescued by a surfer who was able to swim out to them and tow them in on his surfboard.

A 13 year old girl was the third drowning for this date. She was reported missing while swimming just before 9 pm EDT at the Warren Dunes State Park. Unfortunately, her body washed ashore nearby the next day. Exact details are still not known regarding her death, but it remains possible that rip currents may have been at least partially responsible. Details are being entered for the record, but the actual fatality will not be counted due to the unknown official cause.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 897946. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.