Search for missing Bass Lake boater continues. 

MCSO Dep. David Barnett inspects the boat.

Search for missing Bass Lake boater continues. 

By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief.

SUMMIT TOWNSHIP — The search for a missing Lake Bluff, Ill. man continued this morning on and around Bass Lake. At 5:24 p.m. Friday, July 23, emergency personnel were dispatched to the 6900 block of South Lakeshore Dr. for a report of an unoccupied pontoon boat on the lake. Riverton Fire Chief Joe Cooper said witnesses had observed the boat traveling in circles for about 20 minutes before calling 911.

Dive teams from Mason County Sheriff’s Office and Oceana County Sheriff’s Office were called in while boats from Riverton Fire Department, Hamlin Fire Department, Mason County Sheriff’s Office, Oceana County Sheriff’s Office and Michigan Department of Natural Resources law enforcement, searched the lake. A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter was also called. 

According to the Mason County Undersheriff Derrek Wilson, John Decker, 62, of Lake Bluff, Ill., who owns a vacation home on Bass Lake, has been missing since early Friday afternoon.

The search resumed early Saturday morning. Wilson said today’s high winds have caused a slight issue with the lake search. “It’s nothing we can’t work around,” he said. Emergency boats are working grid patterns on the lake while other personnel are searching the shoreline. 

Emergency crews involved include Mason County Sheriff’s Office, Mason County Sheriff’s Office Dive Team, Mason County Emergency Management, Oceana County Sheriff’s Office, Oceana County Sheriff’s Office Dive Team, Riverton Fire Department, Hamlin Fire Department, Michigan Dept. of Natural Resources law enforcement, U.S. Coast Guard helicopter, Mason County Victim Services and Life EMS.

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