Search continues for missing Green Lake fisherman

Apr. 23—TRAVERSE CITY — A 65-year-old Green Lake Township man and his boat are missing after he never returned from a Monday morning fishing trip.

The man's SUV and his boat trailer are parked at the Green Lake Public boat launch when he embarked around 9:30 a.m., according to law enforcement.

Family members notified the U.S. Coast Guard about 12 hours later when they still hadn't heard from him. The man was an avid fisherman, so this trip is nothing out of the ordinary, his family told deputies.

His name has not been released yet because of the family's wishes and the pending investigation.

As of Tuesday morning, there were no signs yet of him or his 14-16-foot flat-bottom aluminum Jon boat, according to Grand Traverse County Sheriff's Office Lt. Jon Morgan.

Morgan said the sheriff's office dive team worked alongside members from the Coast Guard's Manistee Station during Monday night's search.

Efforts included a helicopter search of Green Lake for about an hour, which didn't yield any new findings, Morgan said. Because of Monday's high winds and stormy conditions, Morgan said the Coast Guard was unable to fly drones over Green Lake, but were hoping to do so today.

The Grand Traverse County Sheriff's Office dive team were planning to focus on the shoreline during Tuesday's search efforts.

The investigation and search is ongoing.