MONROE COUNTY, Mich. – A Monroe County KOA campground is draining its swimming area after multiple drownings and one near-drowning in the past few years.
The campground has not announced an official reason for the closure. However, the decision to drain and permanently close the swimming lake comes exactly one week after an 18-year-old drowned. The third drowning incident in three years.
The families of the victims have been fighting for the swimming lake to be drained.
“For my clients, it certainly feels like a victory. Today is a happy day for them. It’s something they’ve wanted to see. This pond shut down so that these tragedies stop happening,” attorney Stephen Lovell said.
Lovell represents the families of the first two victims. Jaylen Hill, 15, who drowned in 2022, and Andy Snook, who had a near-drowning incident in 2021 and has been in a vegetative state ever since.
“It’s not enough to make up for the tragedies that my clients and their families have gone through. It’s still a good first step, but not enough.
The families will move forward with the lawsuits they have filed. Lovell said the swimming pond is so dangerous because it has a soft bottom, almost no visibility, and it’s hard to see someone when they go under the water.