Missing Fruitport fisherman's boat found in Lake Michigan; search continues
Jakkar AimeryA crew from the U.S. Coast Guard in Traverse City located the boat of a 61-year-old Fruitport man who was reported missing this week in Lake Michigan and authorities continue the search for his body, officials said.
David Split's fishing boat was found unoccupied about 32 miles west of Grand Haven on Wednesday afternoon, according to the Fruitport Township Police Department.
Split, who is known to fish near the mouth of the Grand River and slightly offshore, was last seen leaving Spring Lake in a 29-foot Blue Sea Sundancer named "A & A," police said in a statement on social media.
His cellphone was last pinged around 6 miles off Holland, the agency added.
Around 8:10 p.m. Tuesday, watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan were notified that Split was overdue and had been missing after he failed to return from a fishing trip, coast guard officials said in a statement Tuesday.
In an update early Thursday, officials continued the "intensive search" on Lake Michigan overnight for the missing fisherman, using a U.S. Air Force drone and other surface assets, the Coast Guard said.
Earlier, the authorities said multiple agencies searched 1,800 square nautical miles on Michigan's third largest of the Great Lakes, "an area larger than the State of Delaware," prompting them to swap boat crews to continue the search, which expanded based on wind and drift patterns.
Anyone with information is asked to call (414) 747-7182.
jaimery@detroitnews.com