OCEANA COUNTY - On Wednesday, Jan. 22 at 9:40 p.m., Mason-Oceana 911 received a call about a missing person in the Upper Silver Lake area.
The caller reported that their family member - a 40-year-old Spring Lake man - was last seen around 7:30 p.m. on his snowmobile headed north across Upper Silver Lake.
A deputy arrived to speak with family and confirm the information, and while he was at the house talking with family, he went to see if he could still see any snowmobile tracks in the snow, officials siad. While he was out looking for tracks, he could hear someone yelling for help across the lake.
Other Oceana County Sheriff’s Office personnel responded along with troopers from Michigan State Police Hart Post.
The deputy was about to learn that the person was injured, and the deputy called for Life EMS and Hart Area Fire to respond.
One deputy and one state trooper crossed the ice and found the injured man, officials said. The man told them that he ran into the island due to the poor visibility and weather conditions, saying he could not see his hand in front of his face, officials said. When the snowmobile struck the island perimeter, it ejected him from the snowmobile.
At the time it was blizzard conditions, with temperatures at 24 degrees with a wind chill of 14 degrees.
The deputy and trooper took their winter coats off to try and warm up the man, who had been lying out in the conditions for at least two hours, officials said.
The man needed medical attention for his injuries and was taken by Life EMS to Trinity Health.
This rescue was successful because of these agencies working together, the sheriff’s office said. Responding to the incident were Mason-Oceana 911, Michigan State Police – Hart Post, Life EMS, Hart Area Fire Department and the Pentwater Fire Department drone team.