MIO, Mich. – Officials and a good Samaritan teamed up to save a Detroit teenager who almost drowned in a Michigan river.
Oscoda County deputies were called around 4:30 p.m. Aug. 1, 2024, to the Au Sable River near the Mio Hydro Dam.
A 17-year-old boy from Detroit had been swimming in the water, and police were called when he started struggling to stay above the surface and couldn’t make it back to shore.
Oscoda County Deputy Ryan Blair arrived first and tried to help the boy from the shore, but the teenager was too tired to grab onto the rescue disc, officials said.
Blair went into the water, swam upstream for a short distance, and grabbed the boy after his head went underwater several times.
Both Blair and the teen submerged multiple times, officials said. With the help of a bystander and two Tri-Town firefighters, they got back to shore. The good Samaritan is a man from Mio.
The teenager was having trouble breathing, but he received first aid until Oscoda County EMS workers arrived.
Blair and the teenager were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. They were released later in the evening.