SOUTH HAVEN, Mich. — The EMILY robot isn't a lifeguard, but it can still save a life, slicing through waves to give struggling swimmers something on which to grab.
In the days, months, and now years since Emily MacDonald and her boyfriend, Kory Ernster, both drowned at South Haven's South Beach, Lisa MacDonald has tried to bring lifeguards to the lakeshore town.
"They're not here to fight this fight," said MacDonald, who is Emily's mother. "I'm going to fight that fight for them."
In March, the South Haven city council heard a presentation on a potential program, but no lifeguards will be put on the beach this summer, at least not yet.
"They just kick the can down the road every single year, almost the same steps," said MacDonald, "frustrated" that another beach season has begun without them.
READ MORE: Michigan mom calls for lifeguards, sues city of South Haven over daughter's drowning
Now, MacDonald wants to reward the West Michigan towns with lifeguard programs in place, together donating with Kory's father, Stephen Ernster, two EMILY robots to New Buffalo and St. Joseph's Silver Beach.
"We value the fact that they value human life over tourism," MacDonald said.
The two cities operate the only known municipal lifeguard programs on Michigan's side of the Great Lake.
"This unit, it's great," MacDonald said.
Operated by remote control, the buoyant, torpedo-shaped EMILY (Emergency Integrated Lifesaving Lanyard) robot is sent into the water by a lifeguard when a swimmer is in distress, buying both parties more time for a safer water rescue.
Click here to watch the EMILY robot in action.
The parents plan to pay for the tech with money from Kory's life insurance, and both their child's names are printed on them: "In loving memory of Emily and Kory."
"Incredible people who had incredible lives ahead of them," MacDonald said.
