Event narrative (NOAA)
At least two individuals were swimming in Lake Superior at a beach in Alger County, east of the Laughing Whitefish River outlet, when they were both swept out towards the open waters by a rip current. Both individuals were in water that was waist deep when the first individual was pulled out by the rip current. Upon trying to rescue the individual, the second swimmer was also pulled out by the same current. The current was so strong it was reported that the individual who lost their life had been ripped out of the hands of the second individual. The second individual was able to self-rescue back to shore, but unfortunately the first individual that was pulled out by the rip current was unreachable and lost their life. Both were from Gahanna, Ohio, 612 miles away from the incident.
Other notable rip current events in Michigan
Source: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database. Deaths and injuries are those NOAA classifies as direct. Damage is the reporting office's estimate at the time and is not inflation-adjusted. This is a catalogue record, not a forecast.