Rescuers continue search for missing fisherman in Pentwater River.

Rescuers continue search for missing fisherman in Pentwater River.

By Allison Scarbrough, Editor.

WEARE TOWNSHIP — Rescuers continue their searching for a missing fisherman in the Pentwater River Tuesday morning, April 7.

The search began Monday, April 6, shortly after 5 p.m. after another fisherman found a boat in the cattail swamp with its motor idling , said Oceana County Sheriff Craig Mast. The Oceana County Sheriff’s Office suspended the search Monday night and resumed Tuesday morning. As of approximately 10 a.m., rescuers were still searching.

The missing man, who the boat is registered to, is a man from Hart who is in his 70s. The man’s black Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck was parked at the River Barn Boat Launch.

His flat-bottom river boat was found half full of water, Sheriff Mast said.

A US Coast Guard helicopter circled the area, and several firefighters from Hart and Pentwater departments searched along both the sides of the river on foot Monday evening. Divers also searched for the man. The Department of Natural Resources and the Oceana County Sheriff’s Officehad boats searching. One of the vessels is equipped with a side scan sonar, Mast said.

The missing man is described as being approximately 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighing approximately 175 pounds. He was wearing blue jeans and a gray hooded sweatshirt.

The Oceana County Sheriff’s Office, DNR, Life EMS, Pentwater Police Department, Hart Fire Department, Pentwater Fire Department and the US Coast Guard responded to the scene.

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