Operator of Vessel #1 was kayaking in Little Traverse Bay.  When he did not return, family members reported him as endangered, missing.  An extensive land, water, and air search resulted in his kayak and paddle being located.  Search and rescue efforts continued for 16 hours, at which time recovery efforts began.  At this time (12/6/2010) recovery efforts have not been successful and the Operator of Vessel #1 is still missing and believed to have drowned.

It is unknown if the Operator was injured, or had a medical condition.
Operator did not wear a PFD.
It is unknown how many people were in the kayak, but it is assumed that only the Operator was on board.
There were no witnesses.
It is unknown how the accident happened.

Note:  Lt. from the Emmet County Sheriff Office did not, at first, want to release this information because the body had not been found. When he did send a report on 12/6/2010, he added a note which reads (in his words):
"I completed and attached the boating accident report as requested by your office (DNRE, Law Enforcement in Lansing, Michigan).  As you will note on the Official Boating Accident Report, this case is file classed as a missing person complaint.  All investigative leads, evidence, and witness statements point toward this incident being a boating accident resulting in the drowing and death, however, at this time it remains a missing person complaint."

Note:  from DNRE, Law Enforcement Division:
According to Lt., the Operator of Vessel #1 was a very well-known attorney in the area.  The sheriff department did not want to file a fatal accident report untill Operator's family had filed a death notice with the court, which I understand they did, eventually. 


Little Traverse township      