Archive image: GRAND HAVEN, Mich. – A U.S. Coast Guard rescue swimmer is pulled into a helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Detroit during a search and rescue (SAR) demonstration at the ESGR Boss Lift event at the Grand Haven Coast Guard Festival on August 1, 2023.
Coast Guard photo by Auxiliarist Petty Officer 3rd Class Matthew Thompson.
Story by Petty Officer 1st Class Christopher Yaw, Coast Guard 9th District
CLEVELAND — A Coast Guard Air Station Detroit MH-65E Dolphin aircrew and a Station Cleveland Response Boat crew rescue several boaters in Lake Erie. At 10:34 a.m., July 6, 2024, Coast Guard Sector Eastern Great Lakes in Buffalo, N.Y., received a MADAY call on VHF-FM ch 16 producing a single 30 mile-long line of bearing off the Painesville, Ohio, RFF tower.
A Coast Guard Air Station Detroit MH-65E Dolphin Short-Range Recovery Helicopter aircrew and a Station Cleveland response boat crew were launched to search.
At 11:34 a.m., the Air Station Detroit MH-65 Dolphin SRR Helicopter aircrew was diverted to assist in a separate person-in-the-water case in Lake Erie off Ashtabula. The Cleveland Harbor crew continued searching.
At 1:46 pm, watchstanders at Sector Eastern Great Lakes were notified by a local fire rescue boat crew that they had come across coolers and other debris floating in the water 1-2 nautical miles off the Perry Power Plant.
Coast Guard crews responded after receiving a cell phone report that the boat had capsized.
U.S. Coast Guard video.
U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Detroit.
U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area.
U.S. Coast Guard Great Lakes.
Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard.
Department of Homeland Security.
After refueling following the rescue they had diverted for the Coast Guard Air Station Detroit MH-65E Dolphin aircrew returned to the search and rescued one responsive person from the water wearing a life jacket. The fire department boatcrew rescued one responsive person from the water wearing a life jacket also. The Cleveland Harbor crew rescued a third person, who was unresponsive.
Following the three rescues, it was learned that there had been a fourth person in the water.
It is unknown if the missing person was wearing a life jacket and the cause is currently unknown.
A boatcrew from Coast Guard Station Fairport was launched to assist in the search, joining the Air Station Detroit rescue helicopter aircrew and local fire department. The Cleveland Harbor crew has been released from the search due to crew fatigue.
UPDATE
A second MH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrew from Air Station Detroit replaced the first and a boatcrew from Station Fairport took over for the crew from Cleveland Harbor.
“Suspending a search and rescue case is one of the most difficult decisions for us to make. Our crews – in conjunction with our Ohio state and local partners – conducted an exhaustive search for the missing individual and we are greatly appreciative of the immense effort by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the northeast Ohio community of first responders to attempt to return the individual safely to their family. We offer our heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of those involved in this tragic incident,” said Capt. Mark Kuperman, the Commander of Coast Guard Sector Eastern Great Lakes.
Rescue crews involved in the search:
Coast Guard Air Station Detroit
Coast Guard Station Cleveland Harbor
Coast Guard Station Fairport
Ohio Department of Natural Resources
Lake County Fire Department
Lake County Sheriff’s Office
Perry Fire Department
Lake County Police Department
Lake County Dive Team
Perry Police Department
Mentor Fire Department
Painesville Fire Department
Perry Fire Rescue
–USCG–
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