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.

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Joanna Putman

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.

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