KALKASKA TOWNSHIP — Two males died and another was rescued after falling through the ice on Island Lake late Saturday, according to the Kalkaska County Sheriff’s Office.
According to a Dec. 8 news release, deputies were dispatched to the lake near Island Lake Road and Dockery Road around 10:56 p.m. after reports of someone yelling for help.
Emergency crews determined that three males — a 22-year-old man, a 14-year-old boy and a 13-year-old boy — had fallen through the ice.
The 14-year-old managed to crawl out of the broken ice and yell for help. He was heard by the girlfriend of 22-year-old Johnathan Brake, who had gone looking for the group.
Deputies located the teen on the ice and rescued him. He was taken to Kalkaska Memorial Health Center, where he was treated and released.
Emergency personnel found Brake in the water around 11:40 p.m. Life-saving measures were attempted, and he was taken to Kalkaska Memorial Health Center, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.
Search efforts for the 13-year-old boy continued overnight. A Michigan State Police helicopter searched the shoreline and open water without success. After daylight, the Northern Michigan Mutual Aid Dive Team located the boy around 9:50 a.m. in 7 to 8 feet of water.
Agencies responding included the Kalkaska County Sheriff’s Office, Kalkaska EMS, the Northern Michigan Mutual Aid Emergency Dive Team, fire and rescue departments from Kalkaska County Stations 7, 5, 4 and 9, Whitewater Fire and Rescue, South Torch Lake Fire and Rescue, Michigan State Police and the MSP Trooper 3 helicopter.