PARK TOWNSHIP, Mich — After two kids showed up at a Park Township house, having escaped from a submerged vehicle, Ottawa County dive teams pulled a car with a body inside from Lake Macatawa.
Around 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, two children showed up to a nearby home for help, and officials were immediately dispatched to the area.
Officials believe a man drove into the lake, which is near Jenison Avenue and Lakeway Drive in Park Township, around 2 a.m. Sunday morning.
The two girls, who were in the vehicle at the time, were able to escape.
Lt Westveer with the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office said the children, ages 8 and 10, managed to open the back hatch and make it to shore, where they sheltered for the night.
"From what we know now is, they were on the porch of a residence in this area," he said. "They said that they just huddled up together through the night and kept each other warm until they were able to find the residents."
He said the girls were outside all night and were found with bare feet.
Both were taken to the hospital for evaluation after exposure to cold.
Lt Westveer also thanked the residents who found the girls. "I think what they did, helping those girls, partly saved their lives because of the cold exposure that they had."
At this time, the circumstances leading up to the incident are under investigation.
The name of the man is being withheld at this time, though authorities say he is a 52-year-old from Otsego.
He was the driver of the vehicle, deputies say. He was also the father of the two children.
Crews were working on Lake Macatawa for nearly 7 hours, finally extricating the car around 2:00 in the afternoon.
