OTTAWA COUNTY (WKZO-AM) — The search for a teenager who drowned Wednesday in Lake Michigan off Holland State Park has been suspended by the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office after searching for four days.
The body of 14-year-old Vincent Green was found on Thursday. The body of 17-year-old Christopher Mimis is still missing.
The Coast Guard contributed manpower and equipment to the search for two days. They will continue to watch the shore for a body, but the search in the water, that was hampered by poor visibility and choppy conditions is over.
The family is asking anyone who is out on the water to keep their eyes open for his body.
The two Holland teens were the 72nd and 73rd to drown on one of the five Great Lakes this summer season, and two of ten to have died on West Michigan beaches.
73 is a high number for the Great Lakes but not the highest in the last few years. Last year there were 55 deaths on the five big lakes, according to the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project.
In 2014 there were 54 deaths and 67 in 2013. Deaths peaked at 101 in 2012 and a total of 87 died the year before. In 2010, the first year the organization began keeping records, the death toll was 74.
The 2016 total could still rise. Four swimmers remain in critical condition at this point, and the swimming season isn’t over.
Lake Michigan has a earned reputation as the deadliest of the Great Lakes, primarily because it has the largest population surrounding it and large popular beaches, and the best and the worst beach weather.
Long stretches of beach that run north and south, perpendicular to the westerly winds can create rip tides and under tows that can drag uninformed or unsuspecting swimmers to their deaths.
