Alcohol appears to have a role to play in an odd incident Huron County Sheriff Deputies responded to this past Saturday night.
Deputies were summoned to the 9000 block of Sand Point in Caseville Township around 9:45 p.m. on July 6, after residents witnessed a small boat going around in circles about two miles offshore, with no operator seen. Working under the assumption the operator had probably been thrown off the craft, officers began searching with their patrol boat. They were later joined by a Coast Guard Boat from Tawas, but around 2:30 a.m. on July 7, the search was called off due to poor visibility.
When search efforts began again in the morning, the Huron County Sheriff’s Office located a motorized inflatable Zodiac type boat drifting close to shore in shallow water around 1.5 miles south of Caseville, and brought it to shore. With investigators finding that the craft had an empty gas tank but the motor still in gear, they were assured they had found the reported boat.
The boat’s registration identified the owner as a 45-year-old Lansing man, who was reported okay after being ejected from the boat the night prior. He told police that he was enroute to Caseville when he’d been thrown from the boat after hitting a wave. With the man not having the engine’s emergency cutoff tether attached to him, the boat continued in circles and even hit the man once.
Though the man swam safely back to shore, he decided not to call authorities, and instead abandoned the boat, with alcohol believed to play a large role in the incident. Enforcement action has been taken against the man for his carelessness.
