SCHOOLCRAFT COUNTY, MI-- A downstate man has drowned in a kayaking accident in Lake Michigan off of Schoolcraft County.
Around 3:30 p-m Monday dispatchers received a call from a man whose son and friend took a kayak onto the lake off South Barques Point Trail, South of Manistique. The caller said the kayak had overturned and neither man was wearing a life jacket. The water temperature was about 50 degrees.
DNR Conservation Officer Mike Evink responded and launched a jet ski from the beach. He and Manistique Public Safety EMS found one of the kayakers and brought him back to shore. He was suffering from shock and hypothermia.
Evink found the second kayaker—the caller’s son—at the bottom of the lake in 8 to 10 feet of water. He made several dive attempts to reach the man, but was unsuccessful. Evink used GPS to mark the location, and the Michigan State Police Dive Team recovered the body. The 23-year-old was from downstate Burton.
The Schoolcraft County Sheriff’s Office and a tribal officer from the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians also assisted at the scene.
