Hero Aamina Bradley saved her little cousin… but the river took her.
A 14-year-old girl who didn’t think twice before jumping into the Detroit River to rescue her 9-year-old cousin has died — and her father’s gut-wrenching words are breaking hearts across the country.
Aamina Bradley was identified as the teen who drowned Saturday evening, June 27, 2026, near Maheras-Gentry Park on Detroit’s east side. Her quick, selfless actions saved her younger cousin’s life… but powerful river currents pulled Aamina under before she could make it back to shore.
Bystanders were able to pull the 9-year-old cousin out safely. Aamina never resurfaced.
Her father, Glenn Bradley, jumped into the deadly water to try to save his daughter. He couldn’t reach her in time.
The Tragic Moment at the Graduation Party
The family was celebrating a graduation at Maheras-Gentry Park when everything changed around 8:30 p.m.
Aamina and her 9-year-old cousin had wandered near the water’s edge. The younger girl fell in. Without hesitation, Aamina dove straight into the Detroit River to save her.
Aamina’s body was recovered late that night.
“Her Last Words Were ‘Dad Help Me’”
Glenn Bradley, 38, spoke to local media and shared the devastating final moments with his daughter.
“Aamina, she loved the water. I’d take her to the pool, she would swim, different things like that, they’d play games… just in a river, in that type of setting, in that current, it pulls you out,” he said.
Then he described the moment that will haunt him forever:
“Her last words were ‘dad help me,’ she looked at me. When I went out there, she disappeared, she went under and never came back up. Somebody had to save me because I was drowning.”
Bradley said the family is devastated but trying to hold on.
“Everybody tore up but they maintaining… My daughter was my baby girl, she was my everything so right now I’m numb. The people you love, you have to cherish them because you never know.”
He called her “a warrior” with “a beautiful heart” and “the most beautiful smile.”
Who Was Aamina Bradley? “She Had The Biggest Heart”
Family members are remembering Aamina as vibrant, sassy, funny, and fiercely protective. She had a brilliant mind, a playful spirit, and a smile that lit up every room.
She dreamed of becoming a scientist one day… and even talked about visiting Japan.
The day of the tragedy, she was wearing a pretty burgundy dress with flowers and white sandals while celebrating her brother’s graduation with the family she loved so much.
