“The Lake Michigan shoreline snow shelves and ice-covered piers are beautiful and inviting. And very dangerous!” South Haven authorities wrote in a Facebook post.
A person fell through the ice shelf near the South Haven pier on Wednesday, plunging them into the icy water. South Haven Area Emergency Services (SHAES) are now reminding Michiganders to avoid walking on the ice shelves.
SHAES said they responded to the report of the person falling through the ice Wednesday night. The person was able to pull themself out of the water, authorities said.
“The Lake Michigan shoreline snow shelves and ice-covered piers are beautiful and inviting. And very dangerous!” SHAES wrote in a Facebook post.
According to Dave Benjamin, the executive director of the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project, hidden holes in the shelf ice mounds can lead to a quick drop into the icy water with little to no chance of climbing out.
The thick ice also makes it difficult to know where the beach ends and water begins.
Falling into icy water can cause cold water shock, hyperventilation, gasping, hypothermia and death. There have been multiple reports of people falling through the ice in West Michigan this winter, some of them fatal.
And with temperatures fluctuating within the past few weeks, the ice has become even more unstable.
“In addition to that, we can have waves on the outer edges of the ice shelf, and it’s pushing water underneath it, and can make it very unstable and currents underneath it,” Benjamin said. “So if you were to fall through, it’s a very hazardous situation to put yourself in.”
Wednesday, January 28, 2026
