A 7-year-old child drowned in Michigan’s Flint River over the weekend, and authorities are searching for a second child who has been presumed dead after falling into the river the following day.
The first child, a 7-year-old boy who has special needs, wandered away and drowned in the Flint River Saturday, Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson told USA TODAY.
Further, on the next day, a 6-year-old girl wandered away and was spotted in the river, the sheriff confirmed to USA TODAY on Wednesday afternoon. The sheriff’s office previously announced an incorrect age for the girl.
Swanson told USA TODAY that “we had back-to-back child drowning within 24 hours on the same river, two different parts of the city, and both of them are fatalities”.
Moreover, Flint Fire Chief Theron Wiggins said in a statement provided to USA TODAY that he is deeply saddened by the death of the 7-year-old child in the Flint River on Saturday. He added that “I want to remind our community that playing near the Flint River is dangerous due to hidden debris and strong currents”. “As the weather warms, I encourage families to be safe while enjoying the natural resources and parks in Flint”.
Swanson said regarding the 6-year-old girl that she was with a 9-year-old around 5:15 p.m. on Sunday when the pair wandered from their home.
He said that “there’s cement banks that go at a 40 degree angle into the river and they’re probably 30 feet long into the river. Well, they slid that cement back into the river. The 9-year-old was able to climb out and the 6-year-old is the one that we’re looking for”.
When the authorities spotted the girl, the river was moving five to eight miles per hour and looked very murky, he said. Also, by the time searchers were deployed into the river, she had gone underwater, and it was clear to authorities that the case had become a recovery, not a rescue.
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