Basically a remote controlled life ring, or drone, that could be kept at swimming beaches, on board vessels for man overboard situations or in emergancy response vehicles for cases involving potential drownings. The childrens mother, Cari Mews-Fryman, 29, was later rescued by a passing ship captain, according to a report in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Some people are pretty unhappy about that. Thats why the documentary video The Deadliest Great Lake by MLive has so much resonance the tales of loss land like a punch to the gut. Many accidents and incidents near harbor structures occur during the turbulent weather season late in the year and higher than normal water levels pose an added threat. Of course, residents are used to having lifeguards at the Washington Park beach. Granted, some fell from shore rather than a boat. Unless you have the darn thing on, it doesnt do you any good, Belanger said. Since then, hes advocated for people to always wear properly fitted life jackets and take as many safety classes as possible, and then bigger tasks, like requiring retailers to sell life jackets with recreational watercraft, like paddle boards and kayaks. It has a volume of 2,900 cubic miles (12,000 cubic kilometers), making it the third most voluminous in the world. Its not like the movies, with a lot of splashing and yelling, he said. 04/12/2018 ABC 57 Open forum to discuss future of New Buffalo lifeguards to be held Thursday. Its at the suggestion of our insurer, were eliminating life guards at least proposing to eliminate life guards, Richards said. 2020 Lake Superior Publishing LLC. If you ask anyone anywhere in the United States, What do you do if your clothes catch on fire? they will tell you, Stop, drop and roll. But ask them What do you do if you are drowning? and youll most often get silence and blank stares, explained Dave Benjamin, executive director of the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project (www.GLSPR.org). He said that according to the World Health Organization, drowning continues to be a neglected public health issue. 09/04/2018 Journal Sentinel The body of a swimmer from Franklin who disappeared in Lake Michigan two weeks ago has been found, authorities reported Tuesday. 09/05/2017 Associated Press Water Safety Group Finds Fewer Lake Michigan Drownings. They say when you drown theres no pain because when you yell theres no one there to hear you, Bokun said. Only the mother stayed with the kayak. A full-time seasonal officer is also assigned to off-road vehicle patrol of the City Beach and state park, Hawke said. Benjamin attributes these drownings, in part, to the shifting winds and dangerous water currents in the area. There is a huge difference between pool and open water training. 02/17/2018 MDJ Online Teaching others to swim safely Benjamins life changed forever Dec. 26, 2010, when he had a nonfatal drowning accident. The Michigan City training will be held 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at North Point Pavilion, 6 On the Lake, Michigan City. The first two drownings of the season occurred on Lake Erie five days and about 5 miles apart in May. 07/19/2017 South Bend Tribune Paddle in awe of Great Lakes in Michiana and up north The nonprofit Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project reports 45 drownings in the Great Lakes so far this year. Thirty people have drowned in the Great Lakes during 2017 and 16 of those incidents happened in Lake Michigan. As of April 9, there have been five drownings in the Great Lakes so far in 2020, three in Lake Michigan. We heard a call come over the scanner that a man had fallen off the pier and hit his head, Michigan City Parks Superintendent Jeremy Kienitz said. Diehls body was recovered 07/14/2022. Bubba was 17 years old and passed away due to liver disease on August . 05/24/2017 Tinley Junction Tinley Park couple spreads water safety message in memory of son Tinley Park residents John and Kathy Kocher, teaching water safety and giving back to their community is more than just a passion for them; it is their mission. 2020 has broken the record for the most drownings in Lake Michigan, according to data Once stay-at-home orders were lifted in Ontario, Michigan, and other U.S. states, COVID-fatigued people flocked to beaches near major centres. Benjamin said he hopes to eradicate tragedy with the mantra: Flip, float, follow. Understanding how the pandemic directly and indirectly affecting beach drowning is an important lesson for beach management during a future public health emergency, the researchers said. He was transported to Northwestern Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead a short time later, police said. The summer of 2018 was the regions seventh warmest on record, which would tend to draw more activity to the shorelines by boaters, swimmers, paddlers and jet-skiers. However, they were dressed in light clothes, with just a few supplies, a couple packs of cigarettes, a lighter, flashlightand a cell phone. 07/12/2022 KENOSHA, WI PENNOYER PARK OUTLET CURRENT Samuel Euceda Ucles, M-5 shortly after 6 p.m. directly behind the Pennoyer Park band shell outdoor concert A boy was reported missing. 10/26/2020 Great Lakes Echo Is Lake Michigan the most dangerous Great Lake? A person who is drowning is in panic mode and can push a lifeguard or other would-be rescuer under water. 07/26/2022 EAST CHICAGO, IN MARIANA BOATING Curtis Herron M-36 Herron was taking his recently purchased boat out of storage and was on the water when he and Sain realized the vessels navigation system was down. Wear a lifejacket especially while traveling on boats. Yet theres so little education regarding water safety, and we live on the shores of one of the most beautiful lakes in the country., Erin Breen, a kindergarten teacher at Marsh Elementary School, said, Living in a beach community, our kids need this training. Human Kinetics/St. 08/13/2020 WISN The Milwaukee County Parks Department decided to close McKinley Beach for the rest of the summer after three people have drowned in rip currents. . 07/17/2019 North Cook News GLENCOE PARK DISTRICT: Glencoe Park District launched Beach S.A.F.E. He urges kayakers, boaters and paddlers to wear their lifejackets, rather than just have them aboard. I wish that I didnt know anything about structural currents, about rip currents, Och said. 04/12/2018 ABC 57 Open forum held to discuss the future of New Buffalo lifeguards We were given three minutes today to talk about the importance of lifeguards, only three minutes. Houser and Vlodarchyk studied data up to the end of September for 2010 to 2019, comparing drowning deaths in those years to surf-related drowning deaths to the end of September 2020. GREAT LAKES, USA The Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project (GLSRP) announces its current drowning statistics. This year, more than 100 people have drowned in the Great Lakes making it the deadliest year in a decade. You never play in fire but you know a fire survival strategy, you always play in water every summer, every vacation, every pool that you go to you play in water but very few people know a drowning survival strategy., 07/22/2019 The Neighbor UPDATE: Five fatal drownings at Lake Michigan beaches in the Region this year, officials say, 07/23/2019 News Dispatch Man pulled from lake dies in ICU MC man is second fatality in two weeks off Washington Park, 07/23/2019 Star Beacon Woman pushes for water safety education, 07/22/2019 FOX 6 Breakwater safety hazards up with high Great Lakes water levels, 07/22/2019 WSBT 21 people drowned in Lake Michigan this year. This year has been no exception. GLSRP has tracked drownings throughout the five Great Lakes since 2010.So far in 2020 there have been 30 Great Lakes drownings and four victims that were taken to the hospital and listed in critical condition or condition unknown. In the spring of 2012, the GLSRP endorsed Flip, Float, and Follow and have been advocating it to the media and public ever since. Since 2010, Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project statistics show there have been 622 drownings in the Great Lakes, 292 of them in Lake Michigan, with 41 Lake Michigan fatalities so far this year. 03/14/2018 MSU Great Lakes Water Safety 2018 Conference to address dangerous currents that continue to take lives April 26-27, Evanston, IL, 03/13/2018 NWI Times Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project educators stress water safety to kids, say specific techniques should be learned LAKE STATION Officials with the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project said schools today will conduct fire drills, tornado drills and active shooter drills, but there are no schools that conduct water safety education. Leland Township Supervisor Susan Och also spoke about a young person who drowned on Aug. 30, 2012, at Vans Beach after jumping from a pier similar to Charlevoixs. Signs at the park advise visitors to swim at their own risk. Other drownings happen because of boating or kayaking accidents. The U.S. Coast Guard on Saturday suspended the search for a man who reportedly fell off a boat in Sandusky Bay Friday night. 06/24/2020 Chicago Sun-Times Plainfield man drowns at Indiana Dunes National Park. Ive been doing this for 10 years now and it never gets easier and usually it is always the same message. Benjamin says if you do want to go swimming in wavy water, to wear a life jacket. After lunch on Friday of that week, the family left in a two-person kayak, with room for a third in the middle. 688 Great Lakes drownings since 2010; 313 of those in Lake Michigan. An avid boater and outdoors enthusiast, Przykuta was not wearing a life vest. Rip currents are very serious and can pull you away from the beach., 06/30/2020 Northwest Indiana Times Practicing beach safety: Experts weigh in on how to protect yourself, kids during summer. The park had three drownings last year. At Michigan Citys Washington Park, which doesnt have lifeguards this year, there are life preserver rings along the pier, but theyre on the opposite side of the beach. Swimmers who are struggling in water over their heads need to flip on their backs, float to calm themselves and keep their heads above water and then follow go with, rather than fight the current until they are able to swim toward shore. 10/25/2019 NBC 5 Brandt Miller In 2012 the GLSRP pioneered the Flip, Float, and Follow drowning survival technique to the public and media, and here is a Chicagoland woman crediting it for saving her life when she was on vacation this October. 08/20/2018 WWMT Officials warn public of dangerous water, swimming conditions, 08/20/2018 Chicago Tribune Number of kids drowning in Lake Michigan increases; dangerous conditions continue Tuesday, 08/20/2018 NWI Times Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project: 22 people have drowned in Lake Michigan this year as NWS forecasts life-threatening swim conditions. The GIS map below can also be found here. Overall since 2010, the GLSRP has tracked 625 Great Lakes drownings. Great Lakes CoastWatch is a nationwide National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) program within which the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) functions as the Great Lakes regional node. They absolutely came in handy, Wright told the paper of the rescue in high winds and choppy water. If you dont understand that youre likely to exhaust all your energy and submerge, he said. Broke my heart that this family is going to have to go through this just like we did, Susan Foster said. To think that your child is in that water is beyond a nightmare. Foster said her son was a pilot, athletic and a good swimmer, but Lake Michigan is just too dangerous. But, he added, less than 5% know a drowning survival strategy such as Flip, Float and Follow when caught in a current or floating on your back and breathing deeply for added buoyancy. Lifeguards at nearby Hamburg Town Beach tried reaching Biehler, but they were unable to. Its nonstop. We dont want it to happen on our watch. I corrected some of it in the brackets above.]. The 44 deaths were a 40 per cent increase from 2017, a year in which Thunder Bay also held the highest provincial rate. in Sheboygan, WI. 07/02/2020 Wood TV Family hopes memorial plaque reminds swimmers of Lake Michigan dangers. My sister and I have rescued 17 people, said 21-year-old Emily Richards while setting up for another day of guarding the beach on Friday, Aug. 25. 07/19/2019 HAMMOND, IN CRITICAL CONDITION BOAT DRIVER THROWN IN TO WATER two vessels that collided northwest of Hammond Marina on Lake Michigan. 04/30/2018 rockthelake.com Why you should wear your lifejacket if you paddle this spring: safety tips for chilly Lake Erie. Its a silent epidemic that gets very little proactive funding or attention., 02/09/2018 Petosky News Water safety education important at any age, 02/05/2018 WWMT Lake Michigan Winter Surfing, 01/28/2018 Lake Michigan Surfing Mike Killions Monday Recap for the boyz, 01/28/2018 Lake Michigan Surfing Gerri Matras Lanter Video, 01/02/2018 CTV News We must do better: Group tracks 88 drownings on Great Lakes in 2017, 01/01/2018 PR 88 Great Lakes Drownings in 2017; 625 Great Lakes Drownings since 2010 Mom of drowning victim speaks out and helping schedule Water Safety Presentations for 2018. County Supervisor Sheldon Wasserman said the drownings at McKinley Beach could have been prevented. Melissa Zirkle, of Madison, who is organizing the fundraising dinner, said she reached out to the Nugent family because she knew from experience their biggest need, aside from prayers, was help with funeral expenses. Since 2010 there have been more than 843 drownings in the Great Lakes, and for the 2020 swim season several factors could lead to a deadly summer, Benjamin said. 08/24/2020 Chicago Sun-Times 2nd Bridgeview teen dies after being pulled from Lake Michigan in NW Indiana Yousef Saleh was among several people pulled from the Portage Lakefront Aug. 16. Benjamin says that the high water levels are shrinking Lake Michigan beaches. Knowing how to swim is not enough; you need to know how to survive.. The Ashland County Sheriff tells Fox 9 his investigation should wrap up shortly and he expects very similar conclusions. Police said shortly before 7 p.m., Wednesday, their marine unit responded to a report that a person fell off a boat in the Playpen near the Jardine Water filtration plant, was pulled back on the boat. He talked about several tips to stay safe. Float. Benjamin gets people to think about water safety with a simple question: Can you swim?, Then he takes them through a series of common sense questions, including What do you do if your clothes catch fire? and What number do you call in an emergency?. 09/02/2022 LAKEWOOD, OH Adam J. Schwertner, M-38, Olmsted Falls Schwertner, was reported missing to Westlake police on Sept. 2. Life jackets are required by law for anyone going out in a boat, but it does no good if they are not wearing it, Belanger said. There were 11 more drowning deaths than average in Lake Ontario this year and four more in Lake Huron. Rip Currents To get out of a rip current, it is advised to Flip, Float, Follow until the current subsides to save your energy and reduce your risk of drowning. Wrongful death lawsuits, Algae blooms in winter. 07/13/2022 SOUTH HAVEN, MI NORTH BEACH PARK WAVES & DANGEROUS CURRENTS 7:30 p.m. John Doe, M-7 The South Haven Area Emergency Services was called to North Beach. Awards Conferred 2019-2020. That statistic is based on a controlled setting, such as a pool, said Benjamin. The group recognizes funding will be a challenge but it also looked to see which businesses and nonprofits, as well as elected officials, step up to help bring water safety to the fore. According to the Minnesota State Patrol, a 2004 Pontiac Grand Am, driven by 29-year-old Ryan Matthew Halvorson, was southbound on Highway 29. He went underwater and never resurfaced. Since 2010, there have been more than 850 drownings in the Great Lakes. Where. Pratt and Dave Benjamin, GLSRP executive director, were tasked with leading over a dozen lifeguards, mostly teenagers, in an open water surf lifeguard training session Tuesday afternoon. Swimming may not even be the right word for what happened. There were two other lifeguards with their hands on their hips just watching, I said, I need you to help. He said, We dont have our gear, she said. A water safety video created by Cochran was also shown at all district middle and high schools. We need lifeguards at Washington Park.. Nearly 750 people have drowned in the Great Lakes since tracking began in 2010. The rule was coined by Gordon Giesbrecht, a Canadian physiologist who has studied the effects of extreme cold on the body. Jacob Breault, a rookie lifeguard with Indiana Dunes State Park, says the training will no doubt help him this summer. Their focus is the entire Lake Superior ecosystem . This isnt just Michigan. Sit-on-top kayak is more of an ocean kayak, warm water kayak, interior lake kayak, or very near shore kayak. 05/07/2017 PR Lake Michigan Water Safety Presentation for Valparaiso Swim Club and the general public as Great Lakes drownings continue to rise in 2017, 05/07/2017 PR National Lifesaver Award Winners Continue Efforts with Chicagoland Water Safety School Presentations this week As Great Lakes drownings continue to rise in 2017. They teamed up with the sheriffs department, the Coast Guard, and EMS, all ready to save lives. If youre stuck in a rip current, first flip on your back. As Hoffmaster explained during Tuesdays council workshop, the city has lost $1.1 million in revenue per month since the Blue Chip Casino and Washington Park shut down. 09/24/2017 Holland Sentinel A much better summer: Drownings down from 2016 Five people died in Ottawa County waters last year. I was in a structural current. 57 ranks well ahead of the TCL 6-Series's 2. The Chicago area has already had five people drown in Lake Michigan this year. Think of the scenario at a beach with no lifeguard. Preliminary data on fatalities which occurred in the surf zones across National Weather Service areas of forecast responsibility through January 31, 2023. The U.S. Coast Guard does a fine job of keeping Michigans waterways safe, but theres clearly a need for more public education and eyes on the water to prevent us reporting on the 700th Great Lakes drowning later this year. If you enter the water, ease your way in and wear a lifejacket. Benjamin and Bob Pratt, GLSRPs executive director of education, are currently traveling throughout the Midwest to provide in-school presentations on water safety. Bokun has read too many stories about people whove drowned in that lake without the stereotypical image of flailing arms and desperate screams. In her life on the shore of Lake Superior she mingles with fishermen and farmers, quiet folk who keep to themselves. Benjamins regional nonprofit organization tries to prevent drownings through education and has tracked fatalities on all five lakes dating back to 2010. Beaches There have been 27 drownings in Lake Michigan in 2019. As long as that pier and water are together we have to have a life-saving device available so we can help in a situation like we had last week.. Full statistics here. 250787 Obituaries. Knowing how to swim is not enough. A water safety school curriculum needs to be mandated and funded in the Great Lakes region as well as nationwide. Julia Fello has the story, 09/09/2018 The Herald Argus Stay out of the water Beach hazard issued with high waves, rip currents expected, 09/08/2018 The News Dispatch Stay out of the water Beach hazard issued with high waves, rip currents expected I hoped the Great Lakes drownings would subside after the 13 Labor Day weekend fatalities, but it doesnt look like its going to slow down any time soon, said Dave Benjamin, executive director of the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project. 07/27/2019 The Sandusky Register How can Nickel Plate be safer? Home. Unfortunately this societal point of view gives the public the false sense of security that It cant happen to me, and It cant happen to me because I wouldnt be that stupid, and You cant fix stupid, Benjamin said. With summer weather here, people will be jumping into the potentially dangerous waters of Lake Michigan more often than in previous years, I predict. Primer must have at least total mismatches to unintended targets, including. 05/26/2020 CBS 58 Staying Safe on Lake Michigan As Temps Warm With warm weather finally here, many folks may flock to the beach to stay cool over the coming months. A flag has never rescued anybody. As states start to loosen shelter-in-place restrictions and the economy restarts, people want to get out, Benjamin said. The $4.6 million draft includes designing and constructing a new bathroom building, installing an automated parking notification system and making accessibility improvements. The City of Michigan City is committed to providing as many opportunities as possible for everyone to swim and learn water safety practices.. Eric Fryman, 39, his two daughters, Kyra, 9, and Annaliese, 5, as well as his 3-year-old son, Jansen, drowned. 05/24/2019 The News Dispatch Lake safety part of curriculum Lake Michigan can be dangerous After the deadliest year on the Great Lakes in 2018, the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project is reminding swimmers and beach-goers to be safe when in or near the water. The flag system is absolutely not enough, said Executive Director Dave Benjamin. 07/13/2022 FERRYSBURG, MI NORTH BEACH PARK WAVES & DANGEROUS CURRENTS Ryan Leany, M-16, was visiting North Beach Park in Ferrysburg last evening with a church youth group when he got swept away by the waves. Each year since 1994, Lake Superior Magazine has chosen an organization or individual to honor for making a significant contribution to the well-being of Lake Superior and its people. The weather can change at the flick of a switch with the wind and the waves. 25 Posts. 07/16/2019 US News Toddler Saved in Lake Michigan After Winds Carry Inflatable Witnesses say a toddler was rescued in Lake Michigan after he drifted away from his family on an inflatable duck in Indiana. Joseph R. ODonnell*, M-45, was found in the water near the Edgewater Yacht Club by Edgewater Park. Many public pools may be closed or have delayed openings, which means that many more people will be going to the beach.. 05/29/2020 Chicago Tribune Column: Near-drowning experience prompts Hobart man to alert others to summertime hazard as beaches reopen. 12/05/2018 Sun Prairie Star Before I researched drowning, diving and spinal cord injuries for the book, I was very nave about potential dangers relating to these water sports, she said. Parents or guardians of young children should be within an arms reach. Great Lakes drownings are just the tip of the iceberg of the nationwide drowning crisis.. Knowing how to swim is not enough. His organization presents hundreds of educational programs each year, and at the start of each one gives a pop quiz on water safety, Benjamin said. He also says to take water safety into consideration is along the piers of Lake Michigan. The Coast Guard dropped two rescue divers onto the boat and they assisted with CPR and a defibrillator. The year 2012 was the deadliest of those years, with 50 drownings; 2016 followed with 46. The Kochers only child, Matt, drowned in Lake Michigan while at camp in 2013 at the age of 15, pulled from the shore by a rip current. 12/20/2022 CHICAGO, IL Peter Salvino, M-26 was recovered in Lake Michigan near Diversey Harbor early Tuesday evening, close to where his phone was last pinged before he went missing early Sunday morning, 12/18/2022. East Harbor State Park has a 1,500-foot sand beach on Lake Erie. Surveying of the water, whether we are open or closed for swimming, is standard operating procedure, Denecke said. I started jogging a little bit to tell Malik to come closer, then I noticed his hand go up, then I started screaming cause I could tell he was in trouble at the time, she said.