WAYNE COUNTY, Mich. – A child was going under. Bystanders had their phones out. A Metro Detroit man stripped down and jumped in.
Alex told Local 4 his family went on a walk with their dog on June 20 when a stranger nearby noticed a child in distress in the water.
“The guy says, ‘Hey, does he need help?’ And we look out, and I’m like, ‘Oh, does he need help?” Alex recalled. “We didn’t even really notice.”
When jet skiers who tried to reach the child missed him, Alex said instinct took over.
“His head started going under. That’s the thing that I learned…drowning is quiet. There’s no splashing. There’s not calls for help. So, I stripped down and adrenaline took over. It was instinct,” he said.
Hidden currents, sudden drop-offs
Even for confident swimmers, the Detroit River presents unique dangers that aren’t visible from shore.
“There’s about 50 feet of shallows and then it drops off suddenly into the shipping channel,” Alex said. “I was lucky that those jet skiers circled back around and helped me because I realized when I get in there that I was going to need help. I got tired quick.”
Alex said the moment he entered the water, his confidence gave way to humility.
“I’m a confident swimmer. I’ve been to the oceans. I’ve swam all my life. But when I got in the water, I quickly realized that it’s not a joke,” Alex said. “My lack of water training hit me immediately. I was humbled.”
His message to families heading out this Fourth of July weekend is straightforward.
“Just keep your eyes on the water,” Alex said. “Drowning doesn’t look like it does in the movies. There might not be a cry for help. And if there’s plans on going near deep water, keep life jackets on hand.”
Wayne County Marine Division on alert for Fourth of July weekend
With boaters, swimmers and families heading to the Detroit River for the holiday, the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office Marine Division is also urging the public to take water safety seriously.
Sgt. Michael Roehrig, a 28-year veteran of the division, said activity on the water has already been building heading into the weekend.
“There’s been a lot of boat activity, a lot of PWC [personal watercraft] activity, and we have a lot of swimmers that are out here in the water,” Roehrig said. “Most of them are at the beach areas, but it hasn’t really picked up yet, but this weekend should be pretty good.”
Roehrig said drowning is one of the most preventable tragedies on the water — if people stay alert.
“You can slide right under the water very easily and no one would even know,” Roehrig said. “So always keep an eye on your loved ones.”
He also warned that the river’s current moves at approximately 2 to 3 miles per hour, which catches many swimmers off guard.
“If you get caught in the current, don’t swim against it, swim with it towards shore,” he said.
Reach, throw, go — in that order
Roehrig said the Marine Division teaches a simple three-step rule when someone goes into the water.
“Reach, throw, and go,” he said. “So, if somebody goes into the water, reach for them. If that doesn’t work, throw something to them, like a life jacket, a gas tank, a cooler, anything that can float. And if that doesn’t work, then you go in as the last resort to try to save that person.”
For those spending the holiday on a boat, Roehrig said Michigan law requires any vessel over 16 feet to carry a Type 4 throwable personal flotation device on board and he recommends tying a line to it.
“If you do throw it to somebody in trouble and you miss, you can pull it back in, throw it again, give them another second chance,” he said.
New technology speeds up rescues
The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office Marine Division is heading into the summer with new tools designed to save lives faster.
Sheriff Raphael Washington said the county invested approximately $3 million in upgrades, including new docking systems built to get boats on the water more quickly in emergencies.
The division also added drones equipped with thermal imaging to scan the water for anyone in distress.
“Whenever we have to go out to rescue, we take our drones with us and it works very well,” he said.
The division is also deploying a new handheld sonar unit called the AquaEye to help locate people in the water. Roehrig said the thermal imaging capability takes search-and-rescue to another level.
“It’s got thermal imaging so we can scan the lake or scan the river and see if there’s anybody out there that’s giving off the heat signature,” he said.
A coordinated presence on the water
The Marine Division plans to have four to five boats on the water this Fourth of July weekend, including a vessel on Belleville Lake, the only inland lake in Wayne County.
The division works closely with multiple agencies, including the Michigan DNR, U.S. Border Patrol, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Detroit Harbor Master, Monroe County, Macomb County Sheriff’s Department and Canadian partners including the Ontario Provincial Police, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and local agencies in LaSalle and Amherstburg.
“We all kind of come together and help out,” Roehrig said. “Especially, if there’s an emergency, a boating accident or a drowning.”
Don’t drink, do learn to swim
Roehrig said two of the most preventable risk factors on the water are excessive alcohol consumption and not knowing how to swim.
“Too much drinking is a recipe for disaster,” he said. “And learn how to swim. If you don’t know how to swim, take swim lessons somewhere. The YMCA — they offer swim lessons — and there’s other private entities out there that will teach you how to swim. It’s very important.”
Boaters are also reminded that anyone born on or after July 1, 1996, is required by Michigan law to carry a Boater Safety Certificate to operate any vessel, including personal watercraft.
For families heading to the river this weekend, both Roehrig and Alex share the same bottom line.
“Have a great time out here on the water,” a sheriff’s official said, “but please be safe while doing that.”