Mich. deputies, helicopter team rescue teen trapped in marsh

By Aileen Wingblad
The Oakland Press, Sterling Heights, Mich.

OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. — A teenager with autism missing for three hours was rescued Tuesday from a marshy area of Proud Lake State Recreation Area by deputies with the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, officials said.

Trending

Investigations

Minn. lawmaker, spouse killed, second couple injured in politically motivated shooting

The suspect, posing as a cop and driving a fake cruiser, carried out targeted shootings of Melissa Hortman and John Hoffman; police later found a manifesto naming both lawmakers

June 14, 2025 12:50 PM

Vehicle Incidents and Issues

Video: Suspect fleeing wrong way on highway causes car crash

An Ohio State Highway Patrol pursuit ended in a major collision after a suspect fled the wrong direction on a highway shoulder

June 14, 2025 08:00 AM

Corrections

Parole board rejects release of former Akron police officer Douglas Prade

The board noted that Prade, 79, will come up for parole again in 2033; the panel said Prade lacked the programming “to address his risk to reoffend”

June 14, 2025 06:00 AM

Communications

New York legislators vote to preserve media access to encrypted police radio communications

The proposal would require police departments to grant journalists and emergency services organizations access to their encrypted radio communications

June 14, 2025 07:00 AM

The 14-year-old from Farmington Hills, part of a church group camping at the state park in Commerce Township, went missing while hiking on a trail with other members of the group and a chaperone. He ran into a wooded area about 4 p.m. and disappeared from the group, said Sheriff Mike Bouchard.

A 911 call alerted the sheriff’s office about the missing teen who was reportedly known to be attracted to water, and the sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team was sent to the area, along with search teams from the Department of Natural Resources and the Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Authority Police Department. The sheriff’s drone and aviation units assisted in the search, along with a K-9 unit, the sheriff’s office said.

“Thanks to the amazing work of the search and rescue team, including the invaluable assistance of the helicopter, which was able to find him and guide in rescuers, we were able to save this young man from a dangerous situation that very well may have been our 12th drowning of the year,” Bouchard said.

Shortly after 7 p.m. Tuesday, helicopter pilots spotted the teen in a marshy area more than a mile from the trail, where he was unable to free himself from thick, waist-deep mud and dense vegetation, the sheriff’s office said. The marsh is in an unimproved area of the park with no road access or trail. Deputies arrived in a search and rescue boat and saved the teen, the sheriff’s office said.

Paramedics from the Commerce Township Fire Department transported him to an area hospital where he was treated for minor scrapes and bruises, the sheriff’s office said.

Originally Published: August 21, 2024 at 2:13 p.m.

___

(c)2024 The Oakland Press, Sterling Heights, Mich.
Visit The Oakland Press, Sterling Heights, Mich. at https://www.theoaklandpress.com/
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.