LUDINGTON, Mich. — The U.S. Coast Guard ended its search Monday afternoon for a man who disappeared in Lake Michigan two and a half miles off Ludington, Michigan, Sunday night.
The man’s name is not being released and there is no imagery or video available.
“This is the hardest decision we have to make," said Cmdr. Leanne Lusk, of Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan. "Coast Guard helicopters and boats crews, as well as numerous members of the local first responder community have been searching nonstop since we received the report of a man falling overboard. Our deepest condolences go out to the families of those involved.”
At approximately 9 p.m. EST Sunday, two men entered the waters of Lake Michigan while fishing from a vessel. A nearby boater recovered one of the men, who was unconscious in the water, and transported him to local emergency medical services. He was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced deceased.
Coast Guard boat crews from Station Ludington, and Station Muskegon, Michigan, and helicopter aircrews from Air Station Traverse City, Michigan, and Air Station Detroit searched Lake Michigan continuously for nearly 17 hours, covering more than 193 square miles. The search crews did not locate any signs of the missing man.
The man was not wearing a lifejacket.