Student found in snowbank

Male Ferris student found passed out on Division Street

On Friday, Feb. 15, the Big Rapids Department of Public Safety was called at 7:48 a.m. to respond to an indi­vid­ual found in a snow bank.

The sub­ject was deter­mined to be 18-year-old Ferris fresh­man graphic design stu­dent Nicholas Suttles. The first respon­ders found him to be extremely hypother­mic and had an irreg­u­lar heart beat. It is believed he was there since 3 a.m. with­out a coat on.

Torch Sports Editor and senior biotech­nol­ogy major Tyler Shelton encoun­tered the scene on his way to his 8 a.m. class.

According to Shelton, the vic­tim, clothed in a T-shirt, jeans and shoes, was par­tially buried in the snow.


Three male stu­dents, also on their way to class, found the vic­tim first and called the police.

“The body was motion­less,” Shelton said. “He was not breath­ing and was unre­spon­sive. He was dis­col­ored. His body was frozen, and that’s why it appeared he was dead. When EMS arrived, they deter­mined that he had no pulse.”

Initial treat­ment took place at Mecosta County Medical Center where Suttles was sta­bi­lized. He was then sent via Aero Med to Grand Rapids for fur­ther treat­ment. Suttles remains in crit­i­cal condition.

Alcohol is con­sid­ered to be a fac­tor, and a res­i­dence is under inves­ti­ga­tion for the gath­er­ing at which Suttles consumed the alcohol. Initial inves­ti­ga­tion has found Suttles brought alco­hol to the party him­self and con­sumed a large quan­tity. Charges are expected to be filed related to this inci­dence for the indi­vid­u­als who allowed the under-aged Suttles to con­sume alco­hol under the Nuisance Party Ordinance.

As of Tuesday, Feb. 19, he is listed in crit­i­cal con­di­tion at a Grand Rapids hos­pi­tal. More updates will soon follow.