Crews search for person on Lake Michigan at Muskegon

MUSKEGON, Mich. (WOOD) — The search for a person in Lake Michigan at Muskegon has turned into a recovery mission, according to a spokesperson for the U.S. Coast Guard.

Coast Guard Master Chief Kyle Thomas said the person who went in the water had been on a boat, which was recovered. It’s not clear how the person ended up in the water.

Responders were called to the water near the Muskegon channel around 10:30 a.m. Thursday. A vessel with six Coast Guard members responded from the station in Grand Haven, which services the Muskegon area. The Muskegon County Sheriff’s Office, Department of Natural Resources and “other agencies” are also searching, Thomas said.

“Our local partners have informed me that (search) has moved to recovery,” Thomas said.

He said the Coast Guard’s role is “pretty much secured.”

“We’ve covered a certain percentage of the search area for us, reaching what’s called a ‘suspension point,’ so our crew has moved on to talking with the members on the boat and all that. Locals are still in recovery mode and have told me they will continue to search for the near future as far as weather conditions allow,” Thomas said.

Thomas stressed the importance of water safety.

“It didn’t happen this time necessarily, but the water temperature is typically much colder than air temperature this time of year, so we just encourage everyone to please wear your personal flotation device. We highly recommend that. We do that for all of our crews, keep everybody good to go in the water,” he said.

A News 8 crew at the scene saw the U.S. Coast Guard and Muskegon County Sheriff’s Office Dive Team on the water. Dispatchers said the Muskegon and North Muskegon fire departments also responded. The Muskegon Professional Firefighters union reported that divers were called to the scene and a drone was in the air.

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