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Police probe drowning: Church outing ends in tragedy for 6-year-old girl
By Michael Jones, Staff Writer
Tuesday, June 30, 2009 4:00 PM EDT
Signs at the beach warn swimmers no supervision is provided by the Otsego Lake County Park staff. HT - Michael Jones
BAGLEY TWP. - For the second time in six months, tragedy struck Grace Baptist Church after a young girl from St. Helen attending a church outing at Otsego Lake County Park died in a drowning accident Sunday afternoon.
Otsego County Sheriff Jim McBride said deputies from his department responded to the popular park and beach area around 2 p.m. where they found CPR in progress on 6-year-old Aileen Nuttall, who had been pulled from the lake.
McBride said the little girl was then transported to Otsego Memorial Hospital by the Otsego County EMS/Rescue where she was pronounced dead.
Earlier this year, several members with a large group from the church were injured, one seriously, in a January sledding accident on a former ski hill, Mt. Frederic in Crawford County, after the car hood they were using as a makeshift sled crashed into a ravine.
One of the sled’s occupants, a 25-year-old man, was airlifted to Covenant House Hospital in Saginaw where he underwent surgery to his lower lumbar region. The other four sledders were all treated and released from Mercy Hospital in Grayling for a variety of injuries.
Otsego County Sheriff Jim McBride said deputies from his department responded to the popular park and beach area around 2 p.m. where they found CPR in progress on 6-year-old Aileen Nuttall, who had been pulled from the lake.
McBride said the little girl was then transported to Otsego Memorial Hospital by the Otsego County EMS/Rescue where she was pronounced dead.
Earlier this year, several members with a large group from the church were injured, one seriously, in a January sledding accident on a former ski hill, Mt. Frederic in Crawford County, after the car hood they were using as a makeshift sled crashed into a ravine.
One of the sled’s occupants, a 25-year-old man, was airlifted to Covenant House Hospital in Saginaw where he underwent surgery to his lower lumbar region. The other four sledders were all treated and released from Mercy Hospital in Grayling for a variety of injuries.
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On Tuesday, Deputy Sarah Holzschu, who investigated the drowning, said it seemed the tragedy could have been prevented if there had been adequate adult supervision on the part of Grace Baptist.
According to Holzschu, witnesses said children from Grace Baptist Church had not been swimming in the designated swimming area at the time of the drowning. The deputy said at this time she was not able to offer specifics on the incident until her report could be reviewed by the prosecutor’s office.
Holzschu said her investigation had been completed Tuesday and a copy of the report was being forwarded to Otsego County prosecutor Kyle Legel to review. Legel said he did not anticipate it would take too long before making a decision on whether any criminal charges in the matter would be forthcoming.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Sharon (Nuttall’s mother) and her family. They seem like a tight family unit and they have had a devastating loss,” Grace Baptist assistant pastor Robert Perrotti said of the tragedy.
He also said the church is conducting an internal investigation into the events leading up to Nuttall’s drowning.
Perrotti said Tuesday that Nuttall was part of a group of children and adults from the Grayling and Roscommon routes of the church’s bus ministry, who were attending the after-church activity at the county park for the two routes. He said attendance records indicate 53 children and adults from the two communities rode buses to the park and an additional 11 adult workers from the church supervised the outing.
“We have reams of paper from talking to people as we try to sort this out and find out what happened,” Perrotti said. “As a debt to the community, we are doing a full internal investigation. Our church is based on a trust with the community and they deserve to know what happened.”
Perrotti said the church had met with the Nuttall family at the hospital Sunday to offer their help and condolences and began taking testimony after evening services on Sunday from church members who had been at the county park.
He said Grace Baptist pastor Jon Jenkins had contacted Sheriff McBride Monday offering to do whatever the church could to assist his department with its investigation and a copy of the church investigation would be made available to the sheriff’s department.
Perrotti said he expected the internal investigation would be completed by this weekend.
“We’re heartsick,” Jenkins said of the tragic accident.
“Our whole church is grieving. These are kids we love. They are like family to us,” he said of the children who attend the church through its bus ministry program. “Our whole church had a big prayer meeting for the family Sunday. It’s a real tragedy. We realize accidents do happen, but we take something like this very seriously.”
Perrotti said the church would use the internal investigation to review its policies, practices and personnel, to help insure that another tragedy does not occur.
According to Holzschu, witnesses said children from Grace Baptist Church had not been swimming in the designated swimming area at the time of the drowning. The deputy said at this time she was not able to offer specifics on the incident until her report could be reviewed by the prosecutor’s office.
Holzschu said her investigation had been completed Tuesday and a copy of the report was being forwarded to Otsego County prosecutor Kyle Legel to review. Legel said he did not anticipate it would take too long before making a decision on whether any criminal charges in the matter would be forthcoming.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Sharon (Nuttall’s mother) and her family. They seem like a tight family unit and they have had a devastating loss,” Grace Baptist assistant pastor Robert Perrotti said of the tragedy.
He also said the church is conducting an internal investigation into the events leading up to Nuttall’s drowning.
Perrotti said Tuesday that Nuttall was part of a group of children and adults from the Grayling and Roscommon routes of the church’s bus ministry, who were attending the after-church activity at the county park for the two routes. He said attendance records indicate 53 children and adults from the two communities rode buses to the park and an additional 11 adult workers from the church supervised the outing.
“We have reams of paper from talking to people as we try to sort this out and find out what happened,” Perrotti said. “As a debt to the community, we are doing a full internal investigation. Our church is based on a trust with the community and they deserve to know what happened.”
Perrotti said the church had met with the Nuttall family at the hospital Sunday to offer their help and condolences and began taking testimony after evening services on Sunday from church members who had been at the county park.
He said Grace Baptist pastor Jon Jenkins had contacted Sheriff McBride Monday offering to do whatever the church could to assist his department with its investigation and a copy of the church investigation would be made available to the sheriff’s department.
Perrotti said he expected the internal investigation would be completed by this weekend.
“We’re heartsick,” Jenkins said of the tragic accident.
“Our whole church is grieving. These are kids we love. They are like family to us,” he said of the children who attend the church through its bus ministry program. “Our whole church had a big prayer meeting for the family Sunday. It’s a real tragedy. We realize accidents do happen, but we take something like this very seriously.”
Perrotti said the church would use the internal investigation to review its policies, practices and personnel, to help insure that another tragedy does not occur.
29 comment(s)
Guillermo wrote on Jul 18, 2009 9:48 AM:
" "Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones."
Ps 137:9
There is mental illness inherent, folks. "
Ps 137:9
There is mental illness inherent, folks. "
adamwehn1999 wrote on Jul 16, 2009 7:42 PM:
" In The Know - That link requires no password, whatever you are doing you are doing it wrong. Anyway, you believe whatever you want, but stop protecting those responsible for the death of this little girl. What you should have done with the address is copy it and paste it in the address bar of your web browser. It's also easily found doing a search on the michigan.gov website. "
grandme365 wrote on Jul 15, 2009 5:31 PM:
" All I know is maybe this will bring some of the junk that happens there out in the open. I am in the know becasue I went to that churc for 12 years and the stuff that they have done to their members over the years is shameful. I am also sick of hearing how much they do for the community they don't do anything for the community unless it benefits them or puts a notch in pj belt. To the person who named the two men one of them was a known child molester and was still allowed to drive a bus route! "
In the know wrote on Jul 15, 2009 3:12 PM:
" Commonsense you again show your lack of what you proclaim to be. Just because I argue that a criminal charge doesn't fit the situation doesn't mean I am a GBC member. A person can be a nonmember and still believe that a punishment needs to be supported by law rather than being a disgruntled fish like you. And your theory that because other people might be in jail in violation of the constitution means it is okay to put more people in jail in violation of the constitution shows just how much common sense you have. And Pastor JJ hasn't received any of my money and I'm sure he would prefer to have me burned at the stake because I know that religion is just fantasy land.
Adamwehn, do you have a different link. I couldn't get there and was told I need a password. Are you 5-0? "
Adamwehn, do you have a different link. I couldn't get there and was told I need a password. Are you 5-0? "
commonsense wrote on Jul 15, 2009 2:20 PM:
" To Sweet For Words, you must be a GB School graduate if you don't know the difference between the spelling of To and Too in your name. What's wrong with a girl wanting to wear a skirt? I guess nothing if they enjoy looking like freaks from a cult-compound. So, you're saying that those long skirts are not mandated by your leader...right? Why do people with the guts to leave GBC stop dressing like that when they wise up?
I'm glad this forum opened up for people to tell it like it is about the GBC nutcases. I just wish that a child didn't have to die in order for the public to finally admit what a danger GBC is to kids. "
I'm glad this forum opened up for people to tell it like it is about the GBC nutcases. I just wish that a child didn't have to die in order for the public to finally admit what a danger GBC is to kids. "
Birdman101 wrote on Jul 15, 2009 12:28 PM:
" Alright, TJSOCOZ, We all understand that you are a "present" Gracie if you will. Obviously you feel responsible to lash out at concerned parents that are putting themselves in the shoes of the parents of the little girl that drowned, for two seconds. I was there!!!!! Were you? How dare you for speaking without the whole truth!! What lies did ur so called house of God tell you? The first bus that was one short left, and then did a head count and radioed back to the other bus and said they were one short!! That's the truth... I seen it. Again you are trying to keep the secrets of the gracies quiet to pass the buck again. Oh, and you also commented on how much this... Organization has done for this town, name something? I've lived here over 30 years,attended and graduated from school here. You probably don't realize something else you mentioned but you implied that the students that attend the college here are better than the rest of us.... "The students there scored higher than the Gaylord students" You forgot to mention the also have to date within their church. What's up with that?? Maybe you are trying to hush everyone up because some of the secrets of the (Org) are so unlawful that maybe you could be impicated or even have charges brought against you for some reason?? Were you involved with picking the adults for these outings?? Just seems like your on the defense for some reason..Maybe you should visit our church so you can truly experience what God and Faith is all about. I'm gonna warn you though, it's not about swimming and pizza parties, you might be bored. "
commonsense wrote on Jul 15, 2009 3:02 AM:
" GBC does take bible verses out of context and worship their pastor more than Jesus. Where does it say in the bible that women have to wear long-denim skirts to work and swim. If this poor little girl was allowed to go swimming in proper swimwear, she might have been able to stay above water when she was swimming near the boat launch. But, I guess when the "responsible adults" are pederasts, they wouldn't want a young girl swimming in a swimsuit or wearing summer clothes on a hot day. GBC is JUST LIKE Jonestown, Waco, and Heaven's Gate...maybe this will push them over the edge when the truth comes out in court. "
OLD27 wrote on Jul 15, 2009 12:00 AM:
" Save your breath people. GBC is doing the work of the Lord. I'm not "In the Know"...but i know. I've witnessed the work of a single mother that wished to leave the "fold". It wasnt pretty. Heck hath no fury like GBC.
Bottom line on this poor family. They have lost a member, and GBC will be held responsible. As with all GBC problems, it will be handled out of the public eye.
OLD27 "
Bottom line on this poor family. They have lost a member, and GBC will be held responsible. As with all GBC problems, it will be handled out of the public eye.
OLD27 "
commonsense wrote on Jul 13, 2009 7:31 PM:
" Hey In The Know...I'm sorry that you are a brainwashed cult member who is so offended by people bashing your church, but if you know so much, you'd know that our prisons are full of people who are in there in violation of the constitution. Have you ever heard of the DEA that taps phones and kicks in doors in order to imprison drug addicts? These people serving time ARE political prisoners and having their freedom snatched for political purposes. I would also argue that former GBC members Aaron Wiland and Ben martin are behind bars for a good reason that I noticed you didn't include in your rant though. U guess if the your cult and the "responsible adults" who let this girl die are sued in civil court...that would be at least some justice, but there are far worse things going on at your compund than neglect anyway.
Just what are you so In The Know about anyway? Did Pastor JJ make a phone call to God for you and ask if you are In The Know and you were given the OK after giving JJ your paycheck? "
Just what are you so In The Know about anyway? Did Pastor JJ make a phone call to God for you and ask if you are In The Know and you were given the OK after giving JJ your paycheck? "
adamwehn1999 wrote on Jul 13, 2009 2:13 PM:
" Have a look at this, there are two statutes for Negligent Homicide, one involving a vehicle and one not. Therefore you looked for the information you wanted as quickly as possibly and didn't bother looking further because your view was justified. Stop protecting GBC, they and the adults present deserve no sympathy.
http://www.michigan.gov/documents/msp/Di-appf_264450_7.pdf "
http://www.michigan.gov/documents/msp/Di-appf_264450_7.pdf "
In The Know wrote on Jul 12, 2009 9:06 AM:
" I looked up negligent homicide and it only applies to a death involving a motor vehicle. I bet if this happened at a Catholic church outing people wouldn't be trying to invent crimes that fit. "
adamwehn1999 wrote on Jul 10, 2009 11:06 AM:
" To in the know, one criminal charge that can be presented here is negligence of some form, probably would be negligent homicide. This church and the supervisors of this outing need to be held accountable for their lack of responsible supervision of these children, and the church should be held accountable for their bad track record concerning outings. "
In the know wrote on Jul 10, 2009 8:29 AM:
" Hey uncommonsense, from what I have found there is no child endangerment crime. Child neglect is not dealt with as a crime, but as a civil proceeding when a parent neglects a child or allows a child to be neglected. I can't imagine murder is a valid charge either. It is common sense that people can't be thrown into jail based on outrage or a poor decision. Improper supervision is a civil issue, not criminal. I don't think even you can argue there was some intent to allow this to happen. Perhaps your common sense would pack our jails in violation of the constitution. "
commonsense wrote on Jul 9, 2009 4:52 PM:
" Hey In The Know....is child endangerment a crime? You are in the know, so you tell me. When an adult is in charge of watching over a child and that adult allows a child to die, I think that is a crime...but you would know. A huge lawsuit doesn't properly punish someone who causes a death. Who would pay in the case of a lawsuit anyway? The church has deep pockets and I'm sure a team of lawyers. So, I'll say again that somebody belongs in jail for not watching these kids when they were swimming with their clothes on outside of the swimming area. "
To Sweet For Words wrote on Jul 9, 2009 10:25 AM:
" Just to set the record straight Grace Baptist Church DOES NOT own the movie theater. Wherever this rumor came from, I have no clue but let's get this out. If Grace owned the theater, do you think that they would have approved Sex and the City to be played???? C'mon, leave that off the board. Grace does not control any of Gaylord, and as for the skirt issue, what's wrong with a girl wanting to wear a skirt? I just think that some people are getting off the main issue and that is this little girls tragic death. My prayers go out to this little girl and her family as well as Grace Baptis Church. "
gaylord22 wrote on Jul 8, 2009 9:07 AM:
" I would first like to say I feel terrible for this family. Since this happened, not one day has gone by that I have not thought about this poor little girl. I was at the park when the accident happened. We could not believe all of the kids were not swimming in the designated swimming area. If they would've been this all could have been avoided. I do feel all of the so called "chaperones" that were on this trip should be punished more than just having to live with the fact that this happened while they were suppose to be caring for all these kids. The Nuttall family said good bye to their daughter that day thinking she was being taken care of and watched. I have a 3 year old daughter and not over my dead body would she ever go with the GBC on any function. This is crazy. Anybody that sends there child with this group is nuts. How can anybody justify this? I understand accidents happen. But come on?? This is just plain ridiculous. Why were there no life jackets? Why were there not enough chaperones? Why did nobody realize this little girl was missing till everybody was on the bus? I cannot believe that people can honeslty sit there and say, "Oh but poor GBC, they have it so rough, and they are grieving so much?" They need to just stop all of their "outings" and save family's from having to loose/injure a child. My heart and prayers go out to the Nuttall family. I will never forget that Sunday. "
In the know wrote on Jul 8, 2009 8:34 AM:
" Commonsense, what law do you think allows for someone to be jailed over this? It seems to me a huge lawsuit is needed, but I guess I don't know enough to know what crime happened. "
Michael & Michelle Ilardo wrote on Jul 7, 2009 10:51 PM:
" Our prayers and thoughts are with GBC and the Nuttall family. I too belong to a church that has a bus ministry, and while I can understand that people will be upset over the death of a young child, several comments expressed above are harsh, ignorant, and uncalled for. To liken an Independant Fundamental Baptist Church to David Koresh or Jim Jones is ludicrous. No church is perfect, but there is a major difference in philosophy. In our circles, the Bible, not man, experience, or tradition, is our sole authority in all matters of faith and practice. Cults reject Bible teaching, and pull verses out of context to form a doctrine that suits them, not God. The cult becomes the authority, not the Bible. Our whole existance is to bring pleasure and glory to God, not attract attention and build a following. The purpose of a bus ministry is to get the gospel out to people who for many reasons can't come to church. In the heart of these bus workers are those willing to reach out to a community that goes unnoticed and uncared for. Yes, there was a tragedy, and yes, the church is grieving and no doubt will take proactive and preventative action to ensure no further tragedies occur. However, we should all be praying, not criticizing. What would your position be if someone died of heat stroke at an inner city basketball tournement? Would you say the harsh things you had? I would think not. "
commonsense wrote on Jul 7, 2009 6:57 PM:
" The adults in charge of the bus outing that day should be locked up, but they won't because of the stranglehold these people seem to have on our community. They offer nothing, ask for discounts and anything they can have for free, but for some reason they have a lot of say. If they don't want a movie played here, it won't be at our theater. The girls that work at our retail stores and fast-food restaraunts in town don't have to follow the dress code set by employers for some reason. I think I'll go and get a job at Wal-Mart and dictate to them that I will only wear a kilt to work because I'm the member of some "far out there" religious organization that say I must wear something different than the other 99.9% of employees.
Maybe our prosecutor and cops should dust off their badges and arrest somebody when a kid gets hurt or killed. If this had happened to a normal group that was not watching a fully clothes child swimming in an unapproved area, they would be in jail! "
Maybe our prosecutor and cops should dust off their badges and arrest somebody when a kid gets hurt or killed. If this had happened to a normal group that was not watching a fully clothes child swimming in an unapproved area, they would be in jail! "
outspoken wrote on Jul 4, 2009 11:35 PM:
" Where do I even begin... Grace Baptist is supposably for not making sins, and they HATE sinners, but yet they just made a HUGE sin by letting that little girl be swimming unintended. Far as I'm conserned these little "field trips" they have should be stopped! They obviously cannot handle that many kids, and this is not the first time a accident has happened its the SECOND time, only this time someone died! If you loved these children so much, why in the world would you put them on a CAR HOOD and send them down mt. Fredric? To me thats honestly asking for something horrible to happen and if I had children I would NOT allow them to go on these field trips with Grace! Maybe its time for us non-grace people get a say so in something, because everyone knows Grace doesn't allow us to get certain movies played at our theater and things sold in our stores. I feel terrible for this little girls family, and I wish them the best of luck with everything! "
grandme365 wrote on Jul 3, 2009 9:33 PM:
" I have to say to 5141 there are a lot of secrets going on at that place. Just becasue you don't know about them first hand don't mean they are not there. I too went to that church for about 12 years and there is more going on there than you know!! I still feel for those who were in charge! "
moose wrote on Jul 2, 2009 11:51 PM:
" Does anyone else think it’s sad that Grace Baptist waits until an innocent 6 year old girl dies before they decide to check into their field trip policies? Why not after the first or second accident? Did somebody really have to die for them to open their eyes and realize what they were doing wasn’t working. Gee I’m glad they are finally taking the steps to ensure this doesn’t happen again. It should have never happened in the first place. "
2220 wrote on Jul 2, 2009 6:54 PM:
" I completely agree with everything already written. I too have seen the busses pass by with kids all over the place inside. I have seen the kids at outings. Dozens of skirts going down hills at treetops. Hills they shouldn't be on due to lack of skill, and lack of control due to a skirt being wrapped around their ancles. I believe we are aware of how that one ended. Kids on car hoods on Mt. Frederick. Again, we know how that ended. Where isthe supervision? Maybe its about time they think about sending out recruiters for chaperones. Never have I seen a church send out so many young people door to door to preach the good of GBC. What good has come of it? As for secerets?? I believe it. I don't understand it, but I believe it. How can people not see? I thought Waco opened the eyes of the world about this type of system. Do people not remember David Koresh? One leader, with followers who believed every word, and did anything ordered. The tradegy has only just begun... "
5141 wrote on Jul 2, 2009 3:49 PM:
" This is a horrible tragedy, and definitely a thorough investigation needs to take place, to find out exactly what happened. If someone is to blame for this, then action needs to be taken. However, I was at one time a member
at Grace Baptist, and have even been a part of the bus routes, and I know that the reason the church spends thousands of dollars each week to provide transportation for the children and those who could not otherwise be able to attend is because they really do care for these people, and what to help better their lives. There is nothing secret going on at the church as others have suggested, and I would still feel very safe sending one of my own children on one of their buses. And to that one who noticed the lack of control twice on a bus while going down the road, why did you not call the police. If that was happening, then the police should have been called, no matter what group it was or church it was. Please pray for this family, as countless others are doing. I cannot imagine losing a child... "
at Grace Baptist, and have even been a part of the bus routes, and I know that the reason the church spends thousands of dollars each week to provide transportation for the children and those who could not otherwise be able to attend is because they really do care for these people, and what to help better their lives. There is nothing secret going on at the church as others have suggested, and I would still feel very safe sending one of my own children on one of their buses. And to that one who noticed the lack of control twice on a bus while going down the road, why did you not call the police. If that was happening, then the police should have been called, no matter what group it was or church it was. Please pray for this family, as countless others are doing. I cannot imagine losing a child... "
sparkeysgirl wrote on Jul 1, 2009 10:40 PM:
" I pray that Grace Baptist starts to take the safety of other people's children as seriously as they do their own children. I have been behind a Grace Baptist bus twice now on Sunday mornings and both times have seen children out of their seats, jumping around, in the aisles and rough-housingall while the bus is moving. My friend and I were mortified that there seemed to be nobody enforcing bus safety or watching the children. As far as criminal legal action, I believe the adults responsible are being punished enough by their own consciences. But how about not allowing Grace Baptist to be responsible for other peoples children anymore? May God comfort all those involved and shower His love upon each and everyone of them. "
commonsense wrote on Jul 1, 2009 8:17 PM:
" No doubt it's a place of secrets. So was Jonestown, until the worl found out what secrets they were hiding. All I can say to those GBC people is...don't drink the puch on Sunday or Wednesday after the church gets sued for again letting a child be invilved ina tradgedy. "
4426 wrote on Jul 1, 2009 5:04 PM:
" So sad of what has occurred. Maybe the church should of had procedures in palce so something like this would not happen "
grandme365 wrote on Jul 1, 2009 12:48 AM:
" I feel so bad for this family! May God give you the Grace to get through this. I lost a sister when she was 4 years old and watched how hard that was for my parents. When will the kids really matter to this church. May God give grace to the adults that were in charge!! The two past accidents are not the only things that have happened there it's a place of secrets!!! "
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2boys2girls wrote on Jul 19, 2009 4:02 AM: