Huron County Sheriff Kelly Hanson is urging local boaters to remember to call 911 first when reporting an emergency on the lake.
According to a press release by the sheriff, the past summer has already seen at least three situations where a mariner in an emergency situation neglected to call 911 first to report an emergency, or never called or had anyone call to begin with.
The third incident occurred earlier just this week when an out-of-state individual was caught in Tuesday’s storms while out on the lake near Caseville’s shore. Though the boater called a friend to report he was taking on a lot of water, he did not first contact the local authorities, with the friend losing contact with the boater and contacting the Huron County Central Dispatch. Huron County authorities were left scrambling, trying to figure out where to search with the limited information provided.
While the boater did make it safely to shore in Arenac County, Sheriff Hanson stresses search efforts could have actually started had the boater called in himself, as it’d have given the department more information to work from when locating him. In addition to making rescue efforts more effective, the sheriff also notes that reports directly from those needing help also cuts down on false alarm calls, which wastes department resources and manpower, such as an incident this past Sunday.
Witnesses reported seeing flares set off near the Geiger Road Public Access point in Fairhaven Township, with the department’s airboat and Coast Guard helicopter sent in to search, Efforts were suspended after several hours of searching and no further information about the flares or anyone missing on the lake. The Sunday incident involved five sheriff’s office employees, a Caseville Fireman and the Coast Guard helicopter crew pursuing the lead for nothing.
Sheriff Hanson is stressing the importance of firsthand information, as such information plays a big part in increasing the odds of successful emergency lake response.
The sheriff also asks for extreme consideration by making a courtesy call to dispatch, when individuals are involved in situations on the lake that could leave impressions to others on shore of a need for help.
