8/23/21 - Grand Rapids Man Drowns at Holland State Park

Red flags were posted along Lake Michigan on Sunday but that didn't stop people from getting into the water.

PARK TWP., MI - (MLive) -  A 52-year-old Grand Rapids man drowned Sunday afternoon in Holland State Park, police said.

Officials responded to reports of a swimmer in distress at 3:40 p.m., Aug. 22 off the north pier of Holland State Park in Park Township, said the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office in a release.

Michigan Department of Natural Resources officers first found the man, who was struggling to swim about halfway out the length of the pier, police said.

Officers pulled the man out of the water and began life-saving efforts, which failed, police said.

In addition to state DNR officers, the county sheriff’s office’s road patrol, E-Units and marine division responded to the drowning, police said. Park Township Fire and Rescue also assisted at the scene.

The incident remains under investigation by Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office investigators and the county’s medical examiner’s office.

A second swimmer in distress was successfully recovered from the water with a life ring on Sunday, police said. This occurred during the drowning incident, police said.

Red flag, or dangerous, water conditions were in effect at Holland State Park on Sunday.