Fire sergeant walking with daughter drowns trying to save girls in river, MI cops say

An off-duty fire sergeant in Michigan was walking with his 10-year-old daughter near the Detroit River when he heard three young girls yelling for help from the water Friday night, officials told The Detroit News.

Sivad Johnson — who worked for the Detroit Fire Department for 26 years, per Michigan Live — jumped into the water along with several other people to save the girls from drowning, Michigan State Police said in a news release.

One girl was rescued by a civilian and two others were picked up by a nearby boat, Detroit News reported.

Once the girls were safe, they were sent home with their parents, but 30 to 45 minutes later, Johnson’s daughter realized she couldn’t find her father and called 911, police said.

Troopers responded to the scene and learned that that Johnson, 49, had gone into the water to try to save the girls, according to police.

They determined that Johnson was likely pulled underwater by rip currents and that no one noticed. Johnson’s daughter was picked up by her grandfather.

Divers searched for Johnson Friday evening before resuming the search Saturday, police said. Officials announced they had found Johnson’s body on Saturday afternoon.

“From what I hear from the people who worked with him, he was a tremendous leader, a firemen’s fireman, he touched a lot of people,” Detroit Fire Department Director Dave Fornell told the Detroit Free press.

“The biggest thing was he jumped in the river there to rescue some kids he didn’t even know. He was off duty and with his 10-year-old daughter,” he said.

This story was originally published August 23, 2020 at 10:15 AM with the headline "Fire sergeant walking with daughter drowns trying to save girls in river, MI cops say."