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Searchers find body of dad who jumped into lake to save son

odmp.org

Searchers have recovered the body of a man who drowned while trying to rescue his 15-year-old son in a lake northeast of Kalamazoo.

Danyelle Phillips jumped into Gull Lake on Saturday.

Another person grabbed his son and got the boy back to a boat, but the 39-year-old Phillips disappeared.

The sheriff's office says his body was recovered Sunday night.

Relatives say Phillips wasn't a strong swimmer but jumped into the deep water because his son was struggling. He was the father of three boys and was newly married.

Phillips helped coach the Kalamazoo Bulldogs youth football team.

A cousin, Latron Whitfield, says "There was nothing he wouldn't do for that team."

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