Image courtesy WZZM
Authorities in Michigan are searching for three people who haven’t been seen since it’s believed they were tubing along the Muskegon River on the west side of the state.
Missing tubers Muskegon River
What we know:
The Michigan State Police and other local authorities have been searching this week for three people reported missing on the Muskegon River.
The missing individuals are:
- Jazzmin Hock, 28
- Sarah Vida, 28
- Kayden Kovalcik, 9
Family members haven’t been able to contact them, and one of the women’s fathers called police after seeing her car at the Maple Island Boat Launch with a window broken out, Michigan State Police said.
Police said Thursday evening that investigators found two inflatable tubes and footprints.
They’ve been on the river searching, as well as several boaters and drones from above. The area is popular for tubers and has accumulated debris from the traffic over time.
WZZM reported the tubing trip happened on Tuesday, and the missing are a mother, her son and her cousin.
What we don't know:
Police haven’t said if there appears to be any indication of foul play or an accident.
Michigan State Police haven’t provided photos of those missing, but the family provided some photos to WZZM.
Image courtesy WZZM
What they're saying:
Brent Kovalcik, Kayden's father and Vida's ex-husband, told WZZM he didn’t know they went tubing until Wednesday late afternoon.
"I can’t figure out for the life of me why you wouldn’t tell your end point, where you were planning on being," he said. "We knew that you started here, but where were you going after that?"
What you can do:
Anyone with relevant information is asked to contact the Michigan State Police Hart Post at 231-873-2171 or the Newaygo County Dispatch at 231-689-5288.
Local perspective:
The Muskegon River starts in Houghton Lake in Roscommon County and ends at Muskegon Lake, which empties into Lake Michigan.
It’s more than 200 miles long and attracts recreational tubing, kayaking and canoeing.
The Source: Information in this article was taken from Michigan State Police, and WZZM in Grand Rapids who spoke to the ex-husband and father of two of the missing people.