A Casco man tragically drowned this past weekend, the Huron County Sheriff’s Office reports.
The sheriff’s office and several other agencies were called to the Port Crescent State Park shortly after 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 21, due to a report of someone drowning near the mouth of the Pinnebog River. The victim’s girlfriend reported that the pair had been walking in about three to four feet of water near the river’s mouth when they stepped into a drop-off zone. It’s believed the drop was caused by rainwater rushing from the river into the lake and eroding the ground beneath.
Though both struggled to get out of the water due riptide conditions, the woman was able to get out of the water while her boyfriend, later identified as 35-year-old Bruce Flannigan Jr, was not.
Though firefighters from Port Austin, Harbor Beach and Caseville came to assist, bringing personnel, boats and equipment, efforts were delayed, due to Port Austin and Harbor Beach firefighters already working on another rescue. That rescue, also assisted by the Huron County Sheriff’s marine deputies, saw four distressed kayakers in the Port Austin Reef Light area and the Turnip Rock area, with rescue workers still finishing up at the scene when the drowning report came in.
Less than three hours after the initial report came in, Flannigan was found in about ten feet of water, being taken to a waiting ambulance for resuscitation efforts. However, efforts made by both Huron Central Ambulance personnel and McLaren Thumb Hospital staff were not enough to save him, and Flannigan was pronounced dead three hours later.
Huron County Sheriff Kelly Hanson reports that other members of the Southeast Michigan Dive Group, including divers from Sanilac County and personnel from the Oakland, St. Clair and Genesee County Sheriff Offices, were arriving to help as the search concluded Saturday evening.
