DNR closes Sessions Lake to recreation while divers search for missing kayaker

BERLIN TWP. — Sessions Lake in Ionia County has been closed to fishing and recreation while police continue searching for a man who fell from a kayak on Sunday evening.

The lake will remain closed for recreation use on Thursday, the Ionia County Sheriff's Office said in a Wednesday evening news release.

Sheriff's officials said they "appreciate everyone's patience and assistance" while the search continues.

"The Ionia County Sheriff's Office with the assistance of the Michigan State Police Dive Team and the Department of Natural Resources are currently still engaged in recovery operations for the subject that went into the lake on the 14th," the release said. "Sessions Lake is very deep and has numerous features that have hampered the recovery to date."

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources and DNR Sessions Lake Park staff closed the lake, it said.

The missing man is from Grand Rapids and was kayaking with his girlfirend on the 140-acre, man-made lake between Ionia and Saranac, in the Ionia State Recreation Area, when they became uncomfortable in their life jackets and decided to take them off, sheriff's officials said in a news release on Monday.

The man flipped his kayak and did not resurface, they said. He was last seen a few minutes before 7 p.m. His life jacket was recovered.

At the time, sheriff's officials said dive teams from the Michigan State Police and Kent County Sheriff's Office had joined the Ionia County Sheriff's Dive Team, and five area fire departments also have helped in the search.

The missing man's name was being withheld while the search was continuing.

Contact Ken Palmer at kpalmer@lsj.com . Follow him on X @KBPalm_lsj.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: DNR closes Sessions Lake to recreation while divers search for missing kayaker