Man drowns in Alpena trying to rescue fiancee’s dog
Alpena: We have sad news coming from Alpena. A 36 year old man has drowned in the Thunder Bay River. It is near the Cellar Building. He entered the water to rescue his fiancé’s dog. This incident happened on Sunday, August 22, 2022. People who were near the river have reported that the men went to the river to rescue the dog, but slipped on the wet rocks and fell into river. Post that he disappeared from sight quickly.
His fiancée reported the incident to the police immediately. Both Alpena Police and Fire/EMS were dispatched quickly to rescue the man. They began searching with cold water rescue suits, poles and boats. Alpena Fire department had launched the boats and some fisherman also joined in to rescue the man. They were aided by US Coast Guards and there were ground crews from Sector Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan State Police and Alpena County Sheriff’s divers. 2nd Avenue Bridge was opened which was necessary for the search.
But unfortunately the man could not survive. They recovered his body 20 feet away from shore and 20 feet under water. Family reached the scene quickly and were comforted by country officials. The Alpena Police Department reported that they received the call just before 1 p.m. on Sunday. His body was recovered around 2:30 pm.
Police has revealed that this is a case of accidental drowning and has not revealed the name of the man but he is from Laingsburg, near Lansing.
Alpena Fire Chief, Bill Forbush said that everybody did the best that could have been done. He was in praise for the effort and advised it was a good collective effort of Alpena Fire/Police/County team along with US Coast Guard members, Michigan State Police. He advised that the equipment available with firefighters were designed for surface- level emergencies and was not adequate to help them with a deep water rescue incident like this.
Alpena County Emergency Management team posted an update asking people to stay away from the river due to an active rescue situation.
