TEEN NEARLY DROWNS AT PARK
LIFEGUARDS NO LONGER PRESENT AT LAKE LANSING

From the Lansing State Journal
07-05-02 by Robert Snell

Haslett--a 13 year-old boy was hospitalized after nearly drowning while
celebrating the Fourth of July with his family at Lake Lansing Park
South.

Ingham County Sgt. Mark Filice said the boy, whose name was not
released, was on life support at Sparrow Hospital late Thursday.

"If there were lifeguards he wouldn't have gotten past the buoy," said
witness Lisa Stoner of Holt. This is the first summer the beach, which
opened in 1978, hasn't had lifeguards. Ingham county eliminated them to
save $30,000.

Its impossible to say a lifeguard would have prevented the incident,
Ingham County Parks Manager Willis Bennett said. "There's always an
opportunity for an incident of this nature, whether its a guarded or
unguarded facility," he said. "Did we anticipate this? No, no."

A child drowned at the park in 1982, Bennett said.

He said there are signs posted at park entrances and on the beach
warning swimmers that lifeguards are not available. But there were
several deputized park officers and park employees in the park when the
boy disappeared in the water, Bennett said.

Witnesses said the boy was swimming with his father at about 4:45p.m.

They were taking turns playfully diving to the bottom of the lake.
Witnesses heard the father screaming, apparently after the boy failed to
come up. "He started crying and started freaking out," Stoner said.

Ingham County Sheriff's Office's marine patrol was nearby and responded.
A deputy dove into the water to search for the boy.

Stoner and others heard the screams. They joined hands to form a chain
and walked through the water. Then someone found the boy under the
surface. "You could tell he was dead" Stoner said. "he was almost like a
pasty color and he wasn't breathing."

He was removed from the water and placed on the sheriff's boat, Bennett
said. A rescuer performed CPR until an ambulance arrived and took the
boy to the hospital.

Less than an hour later, Lansing resident Kevin Kemp stood on the waters
edge, watching his daughter, son and niece swim. "I'm keeping an eye on
them" he said. "I'm very concerned because there are so many children
out here."

The incident cast a surreal pall on the holiday, Stoner said. "It makes
me want to hug my kids"