The water near the powerhouse of the Mio Dam was already turbulent.
On August 1, 2024, a 17-year-old boy was in the Au Sable River in Mio, Michigan, when he began struggling to stay afloat. The water emerging from the powerhouse did not move like a calm river. It pulled, rolled, and worked against anyone caught in it.
A friend tried to help him.
Another friend called 911.
Ryan Blair was on duty as a deputy sheriff when he drove to the scene. He was 36 years old and had arrived at a situation already in motion. The boy was still in the river, still fighting to keep his head above water.
Blair ran to the river and dived in.
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He swam about 100 feet to reach the boy. That distance matters in turbulent water. Every foot costs more energy than it would in still conditions, and by the time Blair reached him, the boy was not calm enough to assist in his own rescue.
He grabbed Blair.
Then he pulled him under.
More than once.
Blair kept working.
He wrapped a rescue disc rope around the boy and held onto the end of it, trying to tow him toward the end of a concrete pier. The rope was supposed to help create control, but the situation kept shifting. As the boy fought to stay above water, the rope became tangled around Blair’s legs and arms.
Blair submerged several times.
Still, he continued pulling them toward the pier.
Near the pier, a fisherman and two firefighters standing in wadable water formed a human chain. That final link mattered. Blair had moved the boy close enough for others to reach them.
The chain pulled both Blair and the boy to shore.
Once they were out of the river, Blair performed sternum rubs to revive the boy.
The boy was taken to a hospital and treated for symptoms related to near-drowning. Blair was also treated at a hospital for inhaling water and near-drowning. He was off work for two weeks while he underwent breathing treatments.
He recovered and returned to duty.
The rescue did not become easier after Blair reached the boy. It became more complicated.
The boy pulled him under. The rope tangled. The water kept moving. Blair had to keep adjusting until the rescue line, the pier, and the people on shore became part of the same effort.
He did not stop at reaching him.
He kept moving him toward the point where others could finish the rescue.
What He Did And Why It Is Worth Noticing
Ryan Blair entered turbulent water near the Mio Dam powerhouse, swam about 100 feet to reach a struggling 17-year-old boy, wrapped a rescue disc rope around him, and towed him toward rescuers while being pulled under multiple times.
That is what he did.
It is worth noticing because the rescue became harder after contact. The boy’s panic pulled Blair underwater, the rope became tangled, and the current kept working against both of them.
Blair still advanced the situation.
A boy was struggling in the dam water. Blair entered, reached him, and moved him close enough for others to pull them out.
That changed what happened next.
If you reached someone in dangerous water and they started pulling you under, would you keep fighting for control or break away and wait for another method?