OTTAWA COUNTY, Mich. — A fisherman died and his son was rushed to the hospital Monday afternoon after their boat overturned on the Grand River in Ottawa County.
Sgt. Matt Wildfong with the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office said around 2:30 p.m., someone close to the Grand River in Robinson Township heard yelling from the water.
That person saw two men in the water yelling for help and called 911.
A dive team from Robinson Township responded with a boat and got both men from the Muskegon area out of the water.
When authorities responded to the initial address, they discovered the wind had pushed the men and their boat downriver.
The men were in the water for at least a half hour before rescuers got to them.
One of the fishermen, later identified as 77-year-old Davie Gordon, was unconscious and unresponsive. Although crews attempted lifesaving measures on the way to the hospital, Gordon was pronounced dead.
Gordon was a bishop at Refuge Healing Temple Outreach Ministries, a church in Muskegon Heights, leaders announced on Facebook Tuesday.
"His profound leadership and impact on the world and the Body of Christ as a whole, is immeasurable. He will be greatly missed by his First Lady and wife, church family, family, many loved ones and friends," they wrote.
Family members confirmed the other man in the boat with Gordon was his son, Melvin Hardimon Sr.
They say Hardimon held his father while they were in the water so he didn't go under. He tried to keep Gordon's airways open while still holding onto the boat.
Hardimon was warmed up at the scene and taken to a hospital to get checked out.
"The water temperature is only about 40 degrees, so hypothermia sets in very quickly. Once you get hypothermic and you can't hold on to the boat anymore, you could have slipped off the boat," Sgt. Wildfong said. "I believe they said they started about nine o'clock this morning, so they've been out there for quite a while. So they were headed back to where their truck was, and the wave caught them wrong and tipped them over."
Authorities said both men were wearing life jackets.