A pair of signs alerting beach-goers of the danger of rip currents and how to escape one is posted at the base of a trail leading to the waterfront area just west of Brevort River along US-2. A weekend incident involving rip currents took the lives of a grandfather and his grandson swimming in Moran Township. Ethan Mroz, 16, and Patrick Dipzinski, 66, both of Gaylord, drowned off the shores of Lake Michigan near Brevort River Saturday, August 15, at about 12:40 p.m., reported Michigan State Police.

Mr. Mroz was standing in the water at the Lake Michigan beach and was taken under by a series of large waves and pulled away from shore, a phenomenon referred to as rip currents. He emerged in deep water, unable to swim back to shallow water, and went under.

Mr. Dipzinski, who was on the beach, saw his grandson struggling in the water and rushed to help him. He was also overcome by the rip current and driven under the water.

Nearby beach-goers saw what was happening, called for help, and ran into the water to save the two men. The men were retrieved from the water and pulled onto shore, where CPR was given until police and medical crews arrived. Mr. Mroz and Mr. Dipzinski were transported to Mackinac Straits Hospital in St. Ignace, where they were pronounced dead.

Rip currents occur when a strong wave reaches a sandbar or the shoreline and the excess, pentup water flows along the shoreline until it can find a channel to escape back toward the lake. That motion can carve a gap in sandbars, an outlet that the excess water will often use to return to the lake. Water passing through the channel can create a rip current that can carry unsuspecting swimmers away from shore. Rip currents were a factor in Saturday's drownings, said First Lieutenant Dave Hopper of Michigan State Police.

Signs alerting beach-goers of the danger of rip currents, and how best to exit one, are staggered along the shoreline to educate swimmers of the potential danger. Swimmers caught in a rip current are advised to swim parallel to the shoreline until out of the current and then into shallow waters. Swimmers caught in a rip current should not try to swim directly toward shore because the force of the current is too strong. Signs at the beach are posted and maintained by the Mackinac County Water Safety Review Team.

A sign warning swimmers of the danger of rip currents and how to survive one is posted about 100 yards west of where US-2 crosses Brevort River. The sign is posted at the base of the path leading down to the waterfront.

Jeff Halblaub, meteorologist with the National Weather Service station in Gaylord, said typical conditions for strong rip currents in that area are consistent 25 mph southwest winds. The weather service uses several nearby wind towers and computer modeling to predict when rip currents are strongest at the beaches along US-2.

Hazardous weather warnings are issued every five to 10 minutes on radio alerts broadcast on 162.55 MHz, however, a special weather radio is required to hear those broadcasts. Such radios are available at local electronic and hardware stores. Some media outlets monitor these radio alerts and issue warnings to the public as necessary, he said.

"There's no way we can monitor [rip currents] in real time, but what we typically do is recognize the conditions that typically favor rip currents," he said. "The quickest and most direct way to get weather information from us is online," at the Gaylord station's Web site, www.crh.noaa.gov/apx, by clicking on the "Watches/Warnings" tab on the left-hand menu.

Ten lifesaving stations are also scattered along the beach along US-2 and equipped with boogie boards, life rings, and rescue throw ropes. The rescue stations were installed in recent years to prevent swimmers from being carried off by the dangerous rip currents.

Troopers were assisted at the scene Saturday by deputies from the Mackinac County Sheriff's Office, staff of the U.S. Forest Service, and Allied EMS.

Obituaries for Mr. Mroz and Mr. Dipzinski are published on page 19 in this issue of The St. Ignace News.