OTTAWA COUNTY (WWJ) - A life jacket is being credited for playing a major role in the safe rescue of a teen who tumbled off a jet ski in Lake Michigan after nightfall on Thursday.
According to Capt. Jake Sparks of the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office, a 15-year-old boy was stranded in dark waters for over 30 minutes the night of July 13 when he fell off a jet ski driven by a 16-year-old girl around 9 p.m.
Sparks said the two teens were riding in Lake Michigan near the 18000 block of North Shore Drive in Spring Lake Township when the incident occurred.
By the time the girl realized her passenger was missing, Sparks said she was roughly a mile north of where he was stranded. With darkness quickly coming on and her being unfamiliar with the area, the girl dialed 911.
“At that time, it’s starting to get dark, you don’t know which ways further inland or further out into the lake, so it can be disorienting, especially if there’s waves,” Sparks told MLive/The Grand Rapids Press. “You lose your bearings and get discombobulated.”
“He had a life jacket on, which was very important in this incident because he was able to stay afloat from the time that he went off the Sea-Doo (jet ski) until the time that the rescuers got there," he continued. "The life jacket was a big, big part of this.”
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Authorities were dispatched around 9:32 p.m. Sparks said first responders on the shore could hear the teen calling out for help from the water; they used their flash lights to help guide him back until Spring Lake Fire rescue crews could locate him and pull him from the water.
The teen was brought back to shore just before 10 p.m. where he was reunited with his family.
The boy was uninjured in the incident, but Sparks said the outcome could've easily turned into a tragedy had he not been wearing a life jacket.
The sheriff's office said officials were assisted by the U.S. Coast Guard, who deployed multiple vessels and a helicopter to help in the search.