GREEN LAKE TOWNSHIP: Body of missing fisherman found

Elizabeth Brewer, The Record-Eagle, Traverse City, Mich.
·2 min read

Apr. 23—TRAVERSE CITY — A 65-year-old Green Lake Township man's body was found after an extended search on Green Lake.

His sunken watercraft, a 14-16-foot flat-bottom aluminum Jon boat, was found by Grand Traverse County Sheriff's Office divers at approximately 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon. Divers discovered his body an additional 70 to 100 feet toward the Green Lake Public boat launch, where his SUV and trailer had been parked since Monday morning.

The man's name has not been released as the family is still notifying loved ones, according to law enforcement officials.

The man, an avid fisherman, often took trips like these, but after he was missing for 12 hours, his family members notified the U.S. Coast Guard.

Law enforcement confirmed that the man had just installed a brand-new motor in the aging boat, and had confirmed by a text to his daughter that he successfully got the boat on the water. But then the phone signal dropped off.

Grand Traverse County Sheriff's Office Lt. Jon Morgan said the search started Monday alongside members from the Coast Guard's Manistee Station. Efforts that night included a helicopter search of Green Lake, but, because of Monday's high winds and stormy conditions, Morgan said the Coast Guard was unable to fly drones. On Tuesday the dive team switched to searching Green Lake with their side scan sonar and information from the man's family.

"We searched just offshore from the boat launch where he launched at, and using that sonar we found what we believed looked like a boat on the bottom," Morgan said.

An underwater robot with a camera operated by the dive team's ROV unit confirmed those suspicions, he said. The investigation into why the boat failed and what happened remains ongoing with the sheriff's office.

The man's body was sent to Western Michigan University for an autopsy.