Oct 1st, 2015
Petty Officer 2nd Class Adam Mcneil from Air Station Cape Cod, Mass., scans the horizon on a HC-144a Ocean Sentry Airplane over Lake Michigan during a search and rescue case Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2015. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Ross Ruddell)
CLEVELAND — Coast Guard crews suspended their search Thursday for two men who were reported overdue from a fishing trip on Lake Michigan Wednesday.
Missing are Chris Patterson, 25, and Aaron Juarez, 33, aboard a 16-foot white and blue boat.
The two men launched from Pigeon Lake boat launch in Port Sheldon, Michigan, early Saturday morning and have not been heard from since.
“Due to the amount of time that has elapsed since the two men departed on their fishing trip and the excellent search conditions our crews experienced over the course of our searches, we have made the difficult decision to suspend active search efforts,” said Capt. Amy Cocanour, the commander of Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan in Milwaukee. “We offer our sincere condolences to the families and loved ones affected.”
After receiving notification of the missing boaters, the Coast Guard conducted a total of 23 searches, covering an area of nearly 3,800 square nautical miles of Lake Michigan, and used nine different boats and aircraft in the search.
Involved in the search were: a 47-foot response boat from Coast Guard Station Grand Haven, Michigan; four Dolphin helicopters from Coast Guard Air Stations Traverse City, Michigan, and Detroit; an HC-144A Ocean Sentry fixed wing aircraft from Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod, Massachusetts; an HC-130J Super Hercules fixed wing aircraft from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina; and a Royal Canadian Air Force C-130 Hercules from 8 Wing/CFB Trenton, Ontario.
Also involved were units from the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department and the Wyoming Police Department, conducting land-side shoreline searches and a search of Pigeon Lake.
Anyone with information regarding this search is asked to contact the Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan command center at 414-747-7190.