The U.S. Coast Guard suspended its search for a 74-year-old Canadian man who slipped and fell off a boat anchored in Lake St. Clair over the weekend near the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club.
Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Dillon Grimsley said in a phone interview Monday, Sept. 7, a crew from Station Belle Isle and a Coast Guard helicopter crew began a search along with local law enforcement agencies around 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 5, shortly after a 911 call for help was made by a woman on the boat with the man.
Crews continued a search without success until 3 a.m. the following morning, before resuming at first light, Grimsley said. After exhausting resources, search actions were suspended around noon Sunday, Sept. 6, he added.
Suspending the search
does not mean its closed, Grimsley said, but new information would be needed in order for the Coast Guard to resume actions.
A message left with the Wayne County Sheriff's Marine Division seeking an update on the search wasn't immediately returned Sept. 7.
Grimsley said he could not confirm whether local agencies were still searching after the Coast Guard suspended its operations, although typically municipal authorities inform the Coast Guard of any action on the water. The search for the man — who has not been publicly identified as of Sept. 7 — is the highest profile case in the Coast Guard's Great Lakes operations currently, Grimsley noted.
The incident happened around 7 p.m. Sept. 5 as a man and woman aboard a 58-foot-long yacht tried to pull the anchor to go to dinner, when the man slipped and fell off the bow.
Sgt. Michael Roehrig, who runs the Wayne County marine division and dive team, previously told the Free Press conditions on the lake were "windy and choppy" at the time the man fell into the water. Roehrig said the man was trying to swim back to the boat while the woman looked around the vessel for a life preserver. The woman returned, although at that point the man went under the water and got separated from the craft.
Authorities do not believe any foul play was involved, Roehrig previously said.
Along with the Coast Guard and Wayne County Sheriff's office, the Grosse Pointe Shores police, Grosse Pointe Farms police, and the Macomb and Oakland county sheriffs departments assisted in the search.
Free Press federal courts reporter Tresa Baldas contributed with prior reporting.
You can reach Arpan Lobo at alobo@freepress.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Coast Guard: Search for missing boater on Lake St. Clair suspended
