Rescue crews locate three river tubers after three days lost in Michigan brush

A search team from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources located two women, Sarah Vida and Jazmin Hock, and 9-year-old Kayden Kovalcik after they spent three days lost in the Muskegon River’s surrounding brush. Their tubing excursion in Twin Lake was disrupted by log jams that caused their tubes to burst, forcing them to trek through dense, thorny vegetation. With only a broken phone and a single water bottle, they survived by eating bark and flowers and drinking river water, while sustaining numerous cuts and insect bites.

Conservation officers Cameron Wright and Anna Cullen followed a trail of footprints and broken twigs to reach them roughly seven miles from their entry point. The rescue crew provided shirts for protection, medical gloves, and a life vest, then extracted the group using Stokes baskets and a back-carry for the boy. They were transported to a hospital for care, and the boy remained upbeat despite the ordeal.