ST. JOHNS — The Clinton County Sheriff’s Office now has its own dedicated team to respond to water emergencies.
The county’s new dive and recovery team came to fruition thanks partly to the recent arrival of a captain with dive-team experience and due to donations of equipment and money, Sheriff Sean Dush said.
“We’re just excited that it’s in motion,” Dush said.
The county is now part of the regional Capital Area Dive Team and the Southeast Michigan Dive Group, “forming a strong network of skilled divers ready to assist wherever we’re needed,” sheriff’s officials said in an April 24 social media posting.
“Our team is dedicated to supporting underwater search and recovery missions, bringing specialized training and equipment to serve our community and beyond,” the posting said. “This collaboration enhances our ability to respond to emergencies, support investigations, and assist neighboring agencies with water-related incidents. We’re committed to working together for the safety and well-being of our communities.”
Dush said the arrival of Captain Tim McGuckin, who serves as the jail administrator, in July 2024 kick-started the dive team’s formation. Prior to that, no staffers were interested in joining a dive team, he said.
Dush acknowledged that a financial donation by a local woman in “support of the Canine Team, Dive Team, the Clinton County Tactical Officers Association, Clinton County Corrections Officers and Road Patrol” gave the new dive unit a boost. The sheriff’s department acknowledged that donation in an April 17 social media posting. Officials did not disclose the amount of the donation.
The dive team was already a go, but the donation moved it “leaps and bounds forward,” the sheriff said.
The new unit is capable of responding to water emergencies as of now, although it doesn’t have certain advanced equipment like underwater drones and, for now, at least, would have to rely on other teams for that kind of gear, Dush said.
In October 2023, search and rescue personnel from various parts of the state, including Ingham, Van Buren and Oakland counties, responded when a 2-year-old boy went missing and was later found dead in the Looking Glass River in Watertown Township.
It was tragedy that Dush would just as soon forget. He called it “the worst thing I’ve ever dealt with in my career,” outside of losing fellow police officers.
“Loss of life, period, is the worst thing,” he said.
In addition to the Looking Glass River and some smaller creeks, Clinton County is home to Sleepy Hollow State Park, with includes 410-acre Lake Ovid, near Laingsburg, Park Lake in Bath Township and Muskrat Lake in Olive Township.
Motz County Park includes 12-acre Searles lake and Clinton Lakes County Park has 90-acre Big Clinton Lake and 12-acre Little Clinton Lake. The property for that park was acquired by the county in 2023.
Contact Ken Palmer at kpalmer@lsj.com. Follow him on X @KBPalm_lsj.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Clinton County Sheriff’s Office now has its own dive and recovery team
Reporting by Ken Palmer, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
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