OCEANA COUNTY — On Monday at 11:07 p.m., the Oceana County Sheriff’s Office said a report was called in about a water emergency on Lake Michigan.
Mason-Oceana 911 received a call from the U.S. Coast Guard indicating that a person had put a mayday call over the marine radio. Information from the U.S. Coast Guard was that the transmission was somewhere between the Pentwater Harbor and the Little Point Sable Lighthouse.
There was no other information provided by the person on the marine radio, deputies said.
The Oceana County Sheriff’s Office Marine Division, along with the Michigan DNR and the Mason County Sheriff’s Office Marine Division, responded. A Coast Guard helicopter was sent from Wisconsin and assisted in the search as well. The Hart Area Fire Department and Silver Lake State Park DNR staff also responded to assist in trying to locate the boat in distress.
After extensive search efforts by the responding boats, the Coast Guard determined that the search should be called off, as there was no other information confirming anyone was in distress, deputies said.
All four boat crews made it back to their ports safely prior to the overnight storms coming on shore, officials said.