BERRIEN COUNTY, Mich. — The Berrien County Dispatch Center received a 911 call Friday evening at around 7:15 p.m. about an individual in distress and missing in the Saint Joseph River.
The Berrien County Sheriff’s Office Marine Unit, the State of Michigan Department of Natural Resources, the Royalton Township Fire Department and the Berrien Springs Oronoko Township Fire Department sent personnel and boats to search the river for the individual but had no luck.
Preliminary investigation reveals that three juveniles and two adults were relaxing on a pontoon boat and swimming in the water, when one of the juveniles started to struggle in the water.
One of the adults, a 45-year-old male from Berrien County, jumped into the water and successfully rescued the juvenile, but ended up going under water in the process. He was not able to be located.
At 8:47 a.m. Sunday, after two days of searching, a body was found and recovered from the Saint Joseph River by the Berrien County Sheriff’s Office Marine Unit. The body is believed to be that of the 45-year-old male from Berrien County.
The body was found in the river approximately a half mile away from where he was last seen Friday.
The name of the victim has not yet been released, as a positive identification is needed and next of kin need to be notified.
An autopsy will be performed at the Western Michigan University Homer Stryker School of Medicine, which might provide more information on the incident.
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