The 13-year-old boy who had to be rescued from the water off a private beach near Grand Haven on Friday, has now been pronounced dead at the hospital.

Christian Ouding was celebrating the end of a successful soccer season with the rest of his team when he went beyond the sand bars into deeper water than he could handle.

He was under for too long and while they could revive his body, he had suffered too much brain damage.The team issued this statement: 

“We are all in a state of shock. Our U14 boys were celebrating the end of their year with a beach party. This young man in particular had a tremendous season and has been invited to several national ID camps. As successful as he is on the field, his character separated him off the pitch too. He’s the sort of young man you hope is still around when your daughter get older, pure class. It doesn’t seem possible to go from there to where things stand now. As a club, collectively we’re praying for him and his family.”