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Two boys missing in Grand Haven Twp found after coordinated search

Posted at 10:28 PM, Aug 28, 2018
and last updated 2018-08-28 22:28:49-04

GRAND HAVEN TOWNSHIP, Mich. —  The U.S. Coast Guard and the Michigan DNR joined local police in a search Tuesday afternoon for two boys reported missing near Lake Michigan in Grand Haven Township.

The Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office says a family member reported to 911 Central Dispatch around 3:32 p.m. that the boys, ages 8 and 10, were supposed to have returned home earlier from the Christian Conference Grounds, 12253 Lakeshore Drive. After calling 911, the relative went to the Conference Grounds but failed to find them there. But police say the caller later found a scooter and a bike the boys had been riding at a fence on Buchanan Beach, along with their socks and shoes.

The Sheriff’s Office says the relative also checked the shoreline from Buchanan Beach to the Conference Grounds, to no avail. Responders from several agencies then conducted a coordinated ground and water search that included checks of the water and shoreline of Lake Michigan, as well as area beach parks.

Finally, the boys were found walking on the shoreline about 2-1/2 miles north of Buchanan Beach. Police say the boys didn’t know how far they were from Buchanan Beach, or how to find their way back home. They got a ride back to the beach from a Grand Haven Township Fire-Rescue ATV and were reunited with their family.