Search for missing Bass Lake boater is in 3rd day.

Riverton Fire Chief Joe Cooper

Search for missing Bass Lake boater is in 3rd day.

By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief.

SUMMIT TOWNSHIP — The search for a missing Lake Bluff, Ill. man is now in its third day. John Decker, 62, of Lake Bluff, Ill. went missing from his Bass Lake cabin early Friday afternoon. Later that day, his unoccupied pontoon boat was discovered motoring in circles in the lake. Emergency personnel were dispatched to Bass Lake at 5:24 p.m. on Friday, July 23 and have been searching for Decker since. Mason County Undersheriff Derrek Wilson said that divers from Mason County Sheriff’s Office and Oceana County Sheriff’s Office have been searching in the water while emergency boats have been using sonar equipment. Personnel have also been searching the shoreline. Air searches have also been conducted using helicopters and drones.

People are being asked to avoid Bass Lake.

Wilson said the lake is shallow but weeds have caused a challenge. “It’s only about 8 feet deep but 6 feet of that is muck and weeds,” Wilson told MCP. “There is about 2 feet were visibility is zero.”

Searches have continued until dusk and then have resumed at dawn.

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, Pentwater Police Department, Michigan Dept. of Natural Resources law enforcement, U.S. Coast Guard helicopter, Mason County Victim Services, Salvation Army, and Life EMS.

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