By Tanya Terry
After a 7-year-old child drowned in the Flint River on Saturday, April 27, a 6-year-old child fell into the river the next day, on Sunday.
Dive teams have recovered the 7-year-old’s body. Tragically, the child had died after wandering away near the river and drowning.
On Sunday by around 4 p.m., a search for another young child unfortunately needed to begin. A young girl fell into the river around the 1900 block of Court Street while playing with her siblings. She was quickly whisked downstream by the current. The search started at Ballenger Highway and Sunset Blvd, which is near McLaren Hospital.
Sheriff Swanson provided an update on the search for the child who fell into the river on the shortly before press time. As of Monday April 29, he said the child is still missing and all available resources were being used to find her. Divers came from Oakland, Lapeer, Genesee, Saginaw and Bay County.
“We had multiple boats in the water,” added Swanson. “We had a State Police helicopter using infrared.”
There were people 22 miles down the river, in Flushing, at the Flushing Golf Course and into Montrose. There were also drones in the air.
Swanson noted the river was extremely dangerous because it was moving and filled with hazards, trees and water that goes under the banks where a body can hide and rest.
“One of our sergeants actually saw the victim…distant with a little pink shirt,” Swanson said.
He said the two children fell in the river in two different parts of the city in unrelated incidents.
The river was also being dropped about 12 to 18 inches as of Tuesday, April 30 to expose more of its bottom. Authorities also slowed the flow of water through the Kearsley Dam.
“This is a long-term commitment…We’re in for the long haul, whether it be hours, days or weeks…”
Swanson said volunteers are invited to carefully search near the Flint River.
Anyone who sees the victim is asked to call 9-1-1.
The Courier will continue to keep our concerned community informed with any updates available.
