PARK TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Police reports paint a clearer picture of what happened back in January when two children escaped from an SUV after the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office says their father crashed into Lake Macatawa.
FOX 17 obtained the police and toxicology reports Thursday from Ottawa County via a Freedom of Information Act request.
The crash happened around 2 a.m. Sunday, January 22.
The Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office says Jon Dowler drove into the lake near Jenison Avenue and Lakeway Drive in Park Township.
READ MORE: Submerged car with man’s body inside pulled from lake after kids go to a home for help
According to documents, the children, who were eight years old and ten years old at the time of the crash, told investigators that they were buckled in and asleep in the backseat.
They say they woke up when the SUV went into the water, escaped through the hatchback and swam to shore.
Initially, they tried to smash out the side window with an unknown object. The children described to investigators that they were in the water and the water was surrounding them until they were able to open the “trunk” and swim out.
“[One child] remembers seeing [Jon’s] hands reaching back towards the trunk area as they were leaving the vehicle…[The child] could remember hearing [Jon] shouting at [them]…[The child] said [they] could remember smelling the lake.”
The kids told investigators they saw the car sink and could still see the lights underwater.
They told investigators they went to nearby homes and knocked on the doors but never got an answer. FOX 17 is told that many people who own homes on Lake Macatawa do not live there during the winter months, which is why many of the nearby houses were empty at the time.
From there, court documents say the kids spent the night on a covered porch, sharing only a wet jacket to try and stay warm.
“[One child] explained how [they] had a jacket, but both of them were wet. [The child] covered the two of them as best [as they] could with the jacket and they huddled there against the wall until morning.”
READ MORE: Neighbor speaks about helping kids who escaped submerged car in Lake Macatawa
Court documents show that neither child complained of any injuries; however, officers noted in their police reports that both kids had visibly red faces, hands and feet. Officers added that both children were visibly cold but seemed “in good spirits.”
Dowler was driving on a “not licensed” status at the time of the crash and driving faster than the 25-mile-per-hour speed limit on Jenison Avenue, according to court documents.
Autopsy and toxicology results show that his official cause of death was drowning.
Court documents note that nearby surveillance cameras caught the crash.
Surveillance video shows Dowler driving “at a high rate of speed” and hitting the water before floating out farther.
One officer noted that “it appears that there was little to no braking involved.”
Another surveillance video clip shows the children, visibly wet, walking away from a building and crying.
The toxicology report shows that Dowler tested positive for alcohol with a BAC of .18— more than double the legal limit of .08. The report shows Dowler also tested positive for THC Delta 9 and Methamphetamine.
For context, THC Delta 9 can stay in the body for up to several weeks and methamphetamine can be found in controlled substances, including ADHD medication— the toxicology report does not provide further information on either positive test.
Jon’s wife Jennifer reported Jon and the children missing at 6:08 a.m. on Sunday, January 22.
Court documents show the three did not come home after going to a friend’s house the night before.
“In looking at the weather reports from January 22, 2023, the weather forecast showed to be between 33 and 31 degrees during the period of time [the children] would have been exposed outside to the temperatures. The temperature of Lake Macatawa on January 22, 2023 was 38 degrees.”
Dowler’s phone last pinged around 1:30 a.m. Sunday near Saugatuck Dunes
READ MORE: Man who died after driving into Lake Macatawa identified
Jennifer told investigators that she told Jon as he was leaving, “Just remember, if you can’t drive, stay there.”
Court documents show that while Jennifer told investigators Jon had a history of drinking and driving, he had not been drinking alcohol for four or five months prior to consuming on Saturday, January 21.
The documents also detail the conversation between Dowler’s friend and investigators.
The friend told officers that Dowler had “two or three beers that night.” While they said they did not know if he had more than that, they did tell investigators that their spouse asked Dowler if he wanted to spend the night because he had been drinking.
The friend told investigators they thought Dowler did plan to spend the night; however, he decided to drive home with the kids around 12:30 a.m. because “he said he thought he was okay to leave.”
In the police reports, the children told officers that their dad was not wearing a seatbelt at one point and yelling about the alarm going off. They also recalled their dad almost hitting an animal or two, along with almost hitting another car head-on.
“[One of the children] described how [Jon] had driven into several ditches but had been able to get out of the ditches after driving more. [The child] described that two times during the drive, he had stopped, gone behind the vehicle and urinated.”
Dowler did not indicate any signs of suicide, according to interviews in the documents, and investigators do not believe he drove into the lake intentionally.
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance use, call the SAMHSA National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357 for free, confidential help.
