MUSKEGON, Mich. — Coast Guard Station Muskegon, Michigan, and a good Samaritan boater saved three people after their vessel sank in Muskegon Lake Wednesday.
At approximately 4:20 p.m., the Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan Command Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, heard a call for help via VHF-FM marine radio channel 16.
Boaters aboard the vessel in distress told Coast Guard watch standers that their boat was taking on water and sinking fast, prompting Coast Guard Station Muskegon to launch a 45-foot Response Boat — Medium.
Crewed by Petty Officers Michael Kieran, Amanda Rall and Mateo Colon, the Coast Guard boat arrived on scene within minutes and observed three people in the water, all wearing lifejackets.
The boat crew recovered two people from the water and the third was picked up by a local good Samaritan boater who also heard the call. All three people were taken to Station Muskegon. Having been in the water for less than 20 minutes, all three were in good health and did not require medical assistance.
“It was coordinated effort between a vigilant boating public, our communications watch standers across the lake in Milwaukee, and my crew's operational readiness that allowed us to save these people’s lives,” said Keiran, the Coast Guard coxswain.
“While the Coast Guard and a good Samaritan boater ultimately conducted the rescue, the victims took the first step in saving their own lives by wearing life jackets and radioing for help,” said Cmdr. Leanne Lusk, Sector Lake Michigan’s search and rescue coordinator for the case.
While arrangement for salvage of the vessel is ongoing, the Coast Guard has issued a safety information broadcast to all mariners warning them of the sinking vessel half a mile west of Lake Shore Yacht Harbor in Muskegon Lake.