Matthew Ryan Kihlstrand, Austin Michael Stahly, and Cameron Meade

A June 19, 2020, family fun day on St. Joseph River near Sodus, Michigan, turned deadly when an 8-year-old boy struggled to swim in swift current near where his boat was anchored. On the boat, 45-year-old sales rep Matthew Ryan Kihlstrand, of Baroda, Michigan, entered the water and swam after the boy, the current carrying them both downstream. Kihlstrand ultimately submerged and did not resurface. Austin Michael Stahly, a 30-year-old manager of South Bend, Indiana, and Cameron Meade, a 31-year-old courier of South Bend, were camping nearby and responded, entering the water and helping the boy safely exit the river. Water-rescue crews searched the scene that night and the following day for Kihlstrand, who was found about 1.5 miles downstream. He drowned.

91195-10271 / 91234-10272 / 91233-10273

Michael Ryan Kihlstrand
Michael Ryan Kihlstrand
Austin Michael Stahly and Cameron Meade
Austin Michael Stahly and Cameron Meade