BATTLE CREEK, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — After nearly a week of searching, authorities have located the body of an Olivet man who fell into the Kalamazoo River.
19-year-old Eric Punzo was attempting to retrieve a friend’s purse the evening of May 4th when he fell into the river where it converges with the Battle Creek River in downtown Battle Creek.
Police believed he could not swim and that he could’ve been swept away in an undertow. The water is about 20 feet deep at the convergence with a swift current.
Since then, multiple departments, including the Calhoun County Dive Team, were called in and spent over 20 hours using boats and sonar equipment to look for Punzo’s body.
As time passed, the operation went from a rescue to a recovery mission. The search ended Sunday afternoon after Punzo’s body was recovered by a DNR officer who was patrolling in a boat.
A GoFundMe page has been launched to help Punzo’s family.
