A 21-year-old man was rescued but his 58-year-old uncle is still missing and presumed drowned after their boat capsized Monday morning on the Menominee River near the US-41 Interstate Bridge that connects Menominee and Marinette.
Marinette County Sheriff Jerry Sauve said the search will continue on Tuesday. Crews battled strong river currents to try to locate the man on Monday. Sauve said SONAR equipment was being used to search the cold, murky waters for the man.
Sauve said the two were fishing at about 10:30 in the morning when their boat capsized. The 21-year-old man was rescued and then told police that his uncle was also there. That’s when the search involving numerous agencies began in earnest.
“He used his seat cushion to remain buoyant, somewhat,” Sauve told Local Five News. “He bounced down the river, and Marinette firemen were here real quickly. They put in a boat and were able to grab him, but we have yet to find his uncle. There’s a tremendous current, a lot water is coming down the Menominee River. I don’t know if he had motor problems, or what happened, but somehow, they got turned, and took on water, and capsized.”
A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter flew overhead Monday afternoon in an attempt to find the man.
Rebecca Goslin witnessed the rescue from the Marinette side of the river.
“I saw a capsized red boat that was being drug down the river by the current, with a man flailing underneath it,” Goslin told RRN News. “A rescue boat went out there and tried snagging him, and missed him the first time. They got him the second time and took him across the river to an ambulance. They sat there with their lights on for about ten minutes before they took him, and immediately, when they took him, the rescue boats were sent out.”
Sayve said the man was treated for non-life-threatening injuries and released.
THE PRESS RELEASE FROM POLICE FOLLOWS
At approximately 10:23 a.m. a report of a capsized boat and person in the water was received by Marinette County Dispatch/9-1-1.
Marinette City Fire Department responded and observed one person in the water near the Interstate Bridge/Hwy 41. They immediately launched a boat and pulled the person from the river and transported to the hospital. That individual reported that another man had been in
the boat with him. The boat has been located and a search is underway for the missing person.
Marinette Fire Department, Marinette Sheriff Office, Marinette City Police Department, Menominee MI Fire Department, Menominee MI Sheriff Office, Aurora Bay Area Medical paramedics, Emergency Rescue Squad, WI DNR, Marinette County Emergency Management are on currently on scene.
Further updates will be provided as more information becomes available
