by MARSHALL, Indiana — A heartbreaking tragedy unfolded Friday evening when a man from West Michigan lost his life trying to save a young girl struggling in a fast-moving Indiana river.
According to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, the incident happened around 7:30 p.m. near the suspension bridge at Turkey Run State Park. Maximo Disla-Garcia, 56, from Wyoming, Michigan, jumped into Sugar Creek after noticing the girl caught in the strong current.
Witnesses told conservation officers that Disla-Garcia entered the water to help, but the powerful current quickly swept him away. He was pulled downstream into a strainer—a dangerous area filled with rocks and debris—where he was forced underwater and never came back up.
Thankfully, the young girl was able to make it out of the water safely and was not injured, authorities said.
Later that evening, first responders and conservation officers recovered Disla-Garcia’s body. A preliminary autopsy conducted Monday morning at Terre Haute Regional Hospital confirmed the cause of death as accidental drowning.
Multiple agencies assisted in the rescue and recovery effort, including the Marshall, Bellmore, Montezuma, and Bloomingdale Fire Departments, along with Parke County EMS.
Sugar Creek, where the incident occurred, is a tributary of the Wabash River and runs through Turkey Run State Park in Marshall, Indiana.
