MECOSTA TOWNSHIP — Deputies with the Mecosta County Sheriff’s Office responded Monday to a report of a missing 81-year-old man from Saugatuck who was later found deceased in the water near the Newaygo Boat Club.
According to an Oct. 20 news release from the sheriff’s office, deputies were dispatched around 5:23 p.m. to the boat club at 23177 7 Mile Road in Mecosta Township after the man, who had been working on the roof of his houseboat, was reported missing.
Rescue personnel used sonar equipment to search the area and detected an object consistent with a person in the water. The Mecosta County Dive Team recovered the victim about 10 minutes after entering the water.
Mecosta County EMS began life-saving measures, but the man could not be resuscitated and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Assisting agencies included Mecosta Township Fire/Rescue, Big Prairie Fire/Rescue, Big Rapids Fire/Rescue, Morton Township Fire, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, the Mecosta County Dive Team, Mecosta County Victim Services, Mecosta County EMS, and the Medical Examiner’s Office.