The Ashland County, Wisconsin, Sheriff’s Office is releasing the names of one of the victims of an apparent boat-capsizing incident. A mother of three is the only survivor of a kayaking accident on Lake Superior.
Cari Mews, her husband Erik Fryman and their three children were kayaking between two islands in the waters off northern Wisconsin last Thursday when their kayak was tipped over by high winds and waves. Cari was able to text her sister that there was an emergency, but she didn’t get it until hours later. By the time rescuers found her, Cari was suffering from hypothermia and exhaustion.
That night, search crews found the bodies of Erik, their son and one of their girls. Their second daughter’s body was found the next day.
The sheriff’s office says Cari Mews and Erik Fryman of Loyal, Clark County had left Michigan Island with their children in a kayak on Thursday with the intention of touring the Apostle Islands. A U.S. Geological Survey research vessel reportedly rescued Mews after a massive response to a text she had sent to her sister indicating there was an emergency.
Fryman and their three children, ages three, six and nine, were all found dead. An autopsy is pending, and the sheriff’s office is continuing to investigate.
