– OCP file photo
By Allison Scarbrough, News Editor
BENONA TOWNSHIP — A 68-year-old Montague man who fell into the 36-degree waters of Lake Michigan Wednesday morning, April 16, at the Benona Township Park was rescued by two other fishermen.
Raymond Lohman was wearing chest-high waders while surf fishing in Lake Michigan at the park, which is also called Stony Lake Oval, around 8:30 a.m., said Oceana County Sheriff Craig Mast. He was with fellow fisherman Bryan Grover, 67, of Whitehall.
“They were fishing for brown trout and steelhead. (Grover) said that while they were fishing, Lohman had landed a fish and was walking out of the surf to cast back out,” said Sheriff Mast. “He said that he looked over and noted that Lohman had fallen in the water and was flailing his arms frantically.”
Grover, who was about 100 yards from his struggling friend, went into the water to rescue him. “It was about 25-30 yards from shore.”
He pulled Lohman to the shore with the assistance of another fisherman, Michael Beyer, 66, of Shelby, who then immediately called 911.
Lohman was “blue in color and unresponsive” when an Oceana County sheriff’s deputy arrived on scene, states the Oceana County Sheriff’s Office incident report. He was transported by Life EMS to Trinity Health Shelby Hospital where he was subsequently airlifted by Aeromed to Corewell Health Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids.
“It sounds very favorable,” said Mast of Lohman’s recovery. “Mr. Lohman is really, really fortunate that he was not alone and that there were other people in the area to rescue him. If they hadn’t rescued him, it would have been a recovery.”
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