MSU altering safety measures around Red Cedar River after petition takes off

EAST LANSING — Michigan State University officials are looking into improving safety along the Red Cedar River after family and friends of Brendan Santo called for change.

An online petition calling for better safety measures where the river flows through MSU's 5,300-acre campus has garnered more than 18,000 signatures as of Thursday.

Family and close friends of Santo initiated the petition “Make MSU’s Red Cedar River Areas Safe.” The 18-year-old Grand Valley State University student’s body was recovered by authorities from the Red Cedar River last week after Ryan Robison, a private investigator, tipped police to his location. Robison had been using cameras under the ice to look for the missing man.

Santo, of Rochester Hills, went missing while visiting friends during the MSU-University of Michigan football game weekend. He was last seen leaving MSU’s Yakeley Hall on foot before midnight Oct. 29. 

Police recovered the body at about 12:30 p.m. Friday. According to officials, Santo was submerged about a mile-and-a-half downriver from where he was last seen in October.

More:Police ID body recovered Friday from the Red Cedar River as Brendan Santo

More:MSUPD credits a private investigator for leading them to body believed to be Brendan Santo

It’s unknown exactly how or where the Santo entered the river. An autopsy was completed Saturday but his cause and manner of death are still pending while medical examiners await toxicology results. MSUPD Inspector Chris Rozman said those results will not be completed for 6 to 8 weeks.

Pictured in the petition is one example of an unmarked drop-off point near Yakeley Hall on Beal Street. According to the petition, the area includes what's described as a 5-6 foot opening, with no fencing, that descends quickly into a ravine.

“Why is this open??” the petition reads. “At night, you may not know that beyond this opening is a huge drop off down to the Red Cedar River. MSU needs to put barriers, lighting and signage in place to prevent any further tragedies along the Red Cedar River and the ravine.”

University officials have seen the petition and started installing temporary fencing near the intersection of Beal Street and West Circle Drive on Wednesday, MSU spokesperson Dan Olsen said.

"That temporary fencing will be in place until we can figure out a more permanent solution that furthers the safety of all who come to our campus as well as keeping in mind some of the aesthetics our community (does) enjoy as well," Olsen said.

Olsen said the temporary fencing will likely be in place until the summer.

Rozman said in an email that the area of the river west of the Beal Street bridge — and about 1,500 feet downriver — was the first place officers conducted searches, due to indications from multiple cadaver dogs in the area.

In a post last Saturday on the Brendan's Legacy Facebook page, Santo’s aunt Dawn Brewer thanked the more than 46,000 people across the world who had come together to support the family in the wake of her nephew’s disappearance.

The post also expanded upon some of the concerns listed in the petition.

“No family should have to go through what our family has,” the post reads. “There should be a guard rail or fence along EVERY INCH of the river to prevent someone from falling in. There should be adequate lighting not just during sporting events and if bulbs burn out replace them immediately not months down the line.”

Olsen said he can't speak to whether outdoor lighting will be improved, but he said university officials periodically do walk-throughs to identify points for improvement.

A separate webpage of the petition also pays homage to five other men who lost their lives in the Red Cedar River since 1990: Dale Shields, Morgan White, Ryan Getz, Eric Blair and Dale Brown.

The Facebook post also called for campus security cameras to be fully operational and “monitored at all times.” Nearly two weeks after Santo went missing, MSU President Samuel Stanley Jr. acknowledged that a camera outside Yakeley Hall was not functional that night.

Rozman said Thursday the university's security camera system is now in the midst of an overhaul.

Currently, security cameras at MSU are all operated by individual divisions and departments, Rozman said. University officials plan to "incorporate and integrate all of those cameras together into one physical security system."

"The ultimate goal would be for police and public safety to assume responsibility of all the security camera systems once we complete this project," Rozman said. "As you can imagine, when we have over 1,000 cameras on campus, it's a very large project."

He said university officials will work with campus partners and stakeholders to "determine who should have access and who needs to have access to those cameras."

"That will be part of the process," Rozman said.

About 300 new security cameras were ordered in November after Stanley acknowledged issues with the camera outside Yakeley Hall. Most of those cameras have been used to update older camera technology, he said.

Contact reporter Jared Weber at 517-582-3937 or jtweber@lsj.com.