July 3, 2009
4 missing Lake Erie fishermen found alive
BY TAMMY STABLES BATTAGLIA, ZLATI MEYER AND ROBIN ERB
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
Update at 6:35
Four fisherman missing in the Lake Erie have been found alive near their capsized boat off Middle Sister Island in Lake Erie.
U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Brandon Blackwell said Monroe County Sheriff’s deputies found the men about 5:45 p.m.
Authorities identified the four as Douglas Whittaker, 76, of Eaton Rapids; Roy Letson, 52, of Charlotte; Vert, 64, of Lansing, and Ronnie Miller, 63, of Eaton Rapids. They left Sterling State Park in Monroe around 8 a.m. Thursday in a 19-foot Sylvan fishing boat, U.S. Coast Guard Commander Dave Beck said this morning.
David Zachman, whose stepfather, 64-year-old Larry Vert, was among the missing, said the U.S. Coast Guard called his mother about 6 p.m. to let her know the men were found alive.
The four Michigan men were last seen after leaving to fish for walleye about 8 a.m. Thursday.
The group, he said, made two critical decisions: They let loved ones know where they were going and when they’d return, and they stayed with their capsized vessel.
“It gives us something larger to look for,” he said, referring to search crews. He said the men showed signs of hypothermia, but no other serious injuries. They are being taken to shore and will be examined.
It was still unclear, Blackwell said, why the boat capsized.