77-year-old dies when boat sinks in Lake Michigan, cops say. Another boater is missing

Five people were onboard a fishing boat off the coast of Michigan when the 20-foot vessel started to sink, according to local news reports.

People on another boat noticed it was sinking in Lake Michigan — 4 miles off the coast of Arcadia — at about 9:30 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 27, MichiganLive reported.

“The good Samaritan boat immediately responded to the location of the sinking vessel to assist the boaters,” the Manistee County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release obtained by WPBN. The witnesses found four people in the water.

Three of the boaters were alert, 9&10News reported, but one of the adults was unconscious.

“Life-saving measures were attempted by the good Samaritans and emergency responders but she was pronounced deceased,” the sheriff’s office told WPBN. She was 77.

A fifth passenger is still missing, according to the Manistee News Advocate. The boater is 63.

The surviving passengers include a 69-year-old man, 82-year-old woman and 71-year-old woman, according to MichiganLive.

A search for the 63-year-old boater was still ongoing as of 4:30 p.m. Sunday, the Manistee News Advocate recorded. The incident is also under investigation.

McClatchy News requested additional information from the Manistee County Sheriff’s Office on Aug. 28 and was awaiting a response.

Arcadia is located in the northwest corner of Manistee County, on the shore of Lake Michigan.

This story was originally published August 28, 2023 at 11:01 AM.