11/16/2019
Opening day of firearm deer season took a tragic turn in West Michigan Friday when a hunter drowned after his canoe tipped over.
The 48-year-old Grand Rapids area man was hunting deer with his father and brother when the incident on the Pere Marquette River happened around 7:30 a.m. Nov. 5, according to Mason County Sheriff Kim Cole.
The 76-year-old father and 45-year-old brother, also from the Grand Rapids area, were taken to Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital for treatment of hypothermia, Cole said.
It’s believed the three had launched their canoe from the Scottville boat launch and experienced trouble a half-mile west of it, he said.
“It appears they struck a log and that caused their canoe to overturn and pitch them into the water,” Cole said.
The father and brother were able to get themselves out of the water, and eventually were able to reach the victim who had drifted downriver and was unresponsive at that point, Cole said. They dragged him to shore and began CPR, he said.
“I imagine it was quite a challenge to get the victim out of the water,” Cole said, explaining that the riverbank was snowy and the survivors were suffering from hypothermia.
He said it’s unclear whether the men were hunting from the canoe or were planning to use the canoe to get to an area to hunt.
The name of the victim has not been released.
Assisting the Mason County Sheriff’s Office were the Scottville Police Department, Michigan State Police, Michigan Department of Natural Resources law enforcement, Hamlin Fire Department, Custer Fire Department, Scottville Department of Public Works and Life EMS.