Review of drowning case from Crystal Lake and the discovery of the victim 9 years after the drowning g 1
Crystal Lake is a freshwater lake in Northwestern Michigan s Benzie county It is spring fed and is 9 miles long and 3 miles wide Maximum DEPTH 160 FEET 2
The victim was located in the Southwestern portion of the lake in 110 feet of water lying face up on the bottom 3
Crystal Lake is in very close proximity to Lake Michigan and is directly effected by wind and weather conditions on Lake Michigan. The shoreline is surrounded by residences and wooded areas with some light commercial use ( yacht clubs/ marinas) 4
19 year old victim activity prior to drowning riding a personal watercraft / swimming Date of incident 08/09/1998 time of incident 1740 hours 5
P.W.C. had been located approx ½ mile from the s.w. corner of the lake ( the yacht club) Vessel was towed to the yacht club by good samariitan Personal floatation device was recovered near where the p.w.c. had been recovered Owner of p.w.c. advised his son was last seen riding the p.w.c. approx 1600-1630, and was now missing Victim was observed putting on p.f.d. and securing it prior to leaving the yacht club Victim observed doing tricks on the lake 6
Father of victim and friends began searching the lake for victim for approximately 3 hours Numerous other good samaritans on boats and on foot along shoreline looking for victim and interviewing people along shoreline Benzie County Sheriff marine Patrol Grand Traverse County Dive Team U.S. Coast Guard Helicopter 7
Additional searches conducted on subsequent days 8-10-98 Continued search of the lake and shoreline by Benzie County Marine Unit and good samaritans 09/28/05 sonar search of lake by Independence k-9 search and rescue Side scan sonar located image possibly of victim in 90 feet of water Dive by Benzie County Dive team no recovery Private canine search with cadaver dog had significant hit in area of sonar image 8
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The are searched by K.E.R.M.I.T. was outlined by G.P.S. coordinates from sonar and canine search results Conditions on the lake during search were far less than favorable 45 degree air and water temp 3-4 foot rolling waves 30-40 m.p.h. wind out of the west. Boat used for operation 16 foot flat bottom rescue one boat Challenges- wind waves and weather Bilge pump broke during operation ( required on water repair) Video Ray Manipulator arm stopped working prior to discovery of victim Victim discovered second day of operation total time of search 14 hours bottom time 11
½ mile east of 7 mile beach 2 sets of g.p.s. coordinates provided approx 200 yards apart 12
Cold windy waves 13
Boat used in this operation 16 foot flat bottom 6 foot beam 1 foot freeboard strong wind 3-4 foot waves every third or fourth wave breaking over bow of boat. Video Ray challenges Recently received Video Ray R.O.V. no formal training in operation of Video Ray Had only operated Video Ray one time prior to search (on the job training) Bright spot Incredible support from Video Ray via telephone during operation 14
This is the sequence for locating the victim 15
At the time of the Sonar search a weighted cup was dropped on the location of the sonar image This cup was located on the second day of the search 16
A long piece of metal rod was dropped at the site of the canine cadaver dog hit After locating the Cup R.O.V. Operators switched positions and after approx 30 minutes additional search located the Rod the Video Ray was parked observing the rod, and operators switched again 17
The Video Ray was rotated 180 degrees and had a clear view of the body of the victim Located victim in 110 feet of water 18
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Dive team from Benzie County arrived on scene with three divers after preping for the dive the divers were transported to the site A six minute dive was performed in which the diver landed between the victim and the R.O.V. causing great disturbance in the water clouding visibility The R.O.V. was removed from the water The Michigan State Police Dive Team was to perform a dive to attempt recovery arrived on scene and prepared to dive however they were called off to a fresh active drowning 20
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