Michigan State Police troopers joined a search on Tawas Lake late Aug. 20 and helped find an 83-year-old fisherman who had been reported missing after going out in his boat. He was stuck in tall wild rice on the north side of the lake and was brought to shore safely.
The fisherman was reported missing at around 9:45 p.m. after his wife said he had left about 6 p.m. and had not returned. She said he did not have his cellphone, flashlight or other emergency equipment, and that his boat had no lights while he was not wearing his hearing aids.
Third District search on Tawas Lake
A Michigan Department of Natural Resources conservation officer and state troopers searched in complete darkness, then used a shallow water mud boat provided by an off-duty Oscoda Township police officer. The search team heard a voice and saw a flame from a lighter before reaching him at about 11:40 p.m.
The fisherman was uninjured when the search ended. For anyone on the water after dark, the practical lesson is simple: the difference between being reachable and being isolated can come down to basic gear that was missing here, including lights and a way to signal for help.
Wild rice slowed the rescue
Tall wild rice can tangle a boat and keep it from moving freely through shallow water, which is why the rescue depended on a shallow-water craft instead of a standard approach. The fisherman was found on the north side of Tawas Lake, where the search team had to work by sound and sight alone before bringing him ashore.
The report came from a social media post by Michigan State Police's Third District, which also noted that the fisherman was found after the search had gone on for nearly two hours from the missing-person report. The account of the rescue is direct: he went out at about 6 p.m., was reported missing at around 9:45 p.m., and was safe by about 11:40 p.m.
Tawas Lake rescue details
How the fisherman became stuck in tall wild rice was not explained. What the search team did show is that small missing items — a light, a phone, emergency gear, and hearing aids — can become the difference between a manageable delay and a night search that depends on hearing a voice and spotting a lighter flame in the dark.
