© 2026 WNMU-FM
Upper Great Lakes News, Music, and Arts & Culture
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Support Today

Second drowning at Picnic Rocks

By Abbey Kwiatkowski

Marquette, MI – Police have released the name of the victim who drowned at Marquette's Picnic Rocks over the weekend.

Friday around 6:40 p.m. Central Dispatch received a 911 call indicating three swimmers were in distress. Two of the swimmers made it to shore, but the third--Devante Billups, 18, of Detroit--was found in the water.

Emergency personnel performed CPR and took Billups to Marquette General Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

Billups is believed to be a Northern Michigan University student.

Witnesses say a red flag warning people not to swim was flying at Picnic Rocks beach at the time of the incident. It's the sixth drowning in Lake Superior this summer, and the fourth in Marquette this year.

The Marquette City Commission plans to discuss the formation of a waterfront safety task force at Monday night's meeting.