The grandmother of Grand Valley State University student Taleah Lowe, who recently drowned in Lake Michigan, said her granddaughter had been warned about being near the body of water. According to Fox 17, Shirley McCurty said she reminded Lowe about the dangers of the lake during their last conversation, specifically mentioning that she could drown and it would be hard for authorities to locate her. The grieving grandmother said Lowe shrugged off the comment.

“And she said, ‘Grandma, you’re crazy,’ and started laughing," McCurty told the outlet during a Tuesday Zoom interview.

While her family still thought it prudent to give the warning, her aunt said it wasn't likely that Lowe would ever go in the lake due to a fear of water.

“She would never go near the water. She loved the beach. You would never see her in the water but you would see her on the beach,” her aunt, Angela Lane, said. “She would never get in the water and she made it known to people that was close to her that she could not swim. She could not — she would not — get in the water. She had a fear of it.”

“We want people to know that Taleah was a very bright, intelligent, smart, fun, loving, outgoing girl,” Lane continued. “We also want people to know that Taleah could not swim. She had a disability, partial paralysis in her left arm from birth.”

Lowe's body was found on Oct. 15, floating in the water close to Pere Marquette in Michigan. Police said she died in a drowning incident, MLive reports. Witnesses said they saw a swimmer on Thursday night, caught in the riptide around 10:45 p.m. when the tides would typically be too rough for swimming — even for an accomplished swimmer. Officials said Lowe had been at Marquette Park beach with other GVSU students earlier that day.

Lowe's death prompted an outpouring of internet sleuthing, as well as various rumors as to how a young student wound up dead in the lake. Police have since prompted an investigation into threats toward her former college friends, made by those who seem to be under the impression that the college friends have something to do with her death. GVSU police said they've looked into the internet threats.

“At this time, police have not identified any credible threat to the safety of any member of the GVSU community,” the university told MLive in a statement.

“Some social media posts have been irresponsible and unsubstantiated, but they have not risen to the level of a criminal action," the statement continued.

“Our campus resources are being used to support those in our community who are experiencing trauma and intense grief," GVSU said in the statement. "Student Affairs staff has been meeting with students and Taleah’s family and offering support.”

As for McCurty, she said she's leaving the investigation in the hands of the police and Muskegon Police Capt. Shawn Bride, who's leading the investigation.

“I’m not pointing any fingers. [Bride] said the investigation is still ongoing, still being investigated,” she said. “I don’t deal with conjecture. I don’t deal with Facebook. I deal with actual facts.”

Taleah-Lowe

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