NEWAYGO COUNTY, Mich. — Two women and a child who went missing on the Muskegon River have been found alive, according to Michigan State Police.
Since Tuesday, troopers have been searching for Jazmin Hock, 28, Sarah Vida, 28, and Kayden Kovalcik, 9.
Search crews found the trio alive in the woods just after 4:30 p.m. Friday, about a quarter-of-a-mile northeast of the Mill Iron Boat Launch in Muskegon County.
Troopers say the group will be medically treated.
An investigation into the trio’s disappearance began Tuesday after the father of one of the missing women found that the window of her car, parked at the Maple Island Boat Launch in Newaygo County, had been smashed.
Family members said they were not able to contact them since.
According to Michigan State Police Lieutenant Pat Agema, time was of the essence.
He said all of the agency’s resources were dedicated to the search. K-9’s were on the ground, drones were in the sky and boats were in the water – searching for the trio.
On Thursday, investigators found two inflatable tubes used by the group, along with footprints.
Crews then found a flip-flop that was believed to belong to Vida on Friday.
“A boyfriend to Sarah [Vida] was going to look at it to see if it belonged to her,” Agema said.
Investigators also found pool floaties the trio were using about two miles down the river.
“They are not river rafts they are not built rugged to go down the river,” Agema said. “I don’t think they were versed in tubing and there was no secondary car or destination point for them to exit the river.”
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