'Watching not enough when beach packed'

SOUTH HAVEN, Mich. (WOOD) - South Haven police said the drowning of a 3-year-old girl early Wednesday evening was a preventable tragedy, and there is more to be done than simply keeping an eye on the kids.

Around 7:45 p.m., Maleisa Brown's mother went to the restroom and left her daughter in the care of other relatives at South Beach.  She said she was gone for about eight minutes, and when she returned, the girl was unresponsive in the water.

A swimmer noticed Maleisa, who was not wearing a flotation device, in shallow water near the shore.

Civilians performed CPR as did emergency personnel when they arrived. But Maleisa was not responsive and died at a nearby hospital.

"It was nothing more than the eyes being taken off the child," said South Haven Fire Chief Ron Wise. ".It's heartbreaking. It's very heartbreaking."

This time a rip current had nothing to do with Maleisa's death in four feet of water.

"Yesterday was a tragedy but it was 100% preventable," said South Haven Officer Adam DeBoer. "Life jackets, swim ring, even an innertube around her waist would have given her something."

Thursday, though, DeBoer saw more children playing in the water while "mom is sitting there with her nose in a book."

But it's more than unsupervised kids, he said.

"You have to give them lifejackets, you have to give them floaties, you have to give them swim rings or whatever you call those things that go on the arms. Because watching them isn't enough when the beach is packed and the weather is like it is."

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Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project