Coast Guard Recovers Body Of Redford Man, Rescues Others From Lake St. Clair

ST. CLAIR SHORES, MI — The body of a 45-year-old Redford Township man was recovered Saturday morning after he fell into Lake St. Clair Friday evening. Virdest Orlando Day was recovered mid-morning Saturday near where he fell in the water near Metro Beach in Harrison Township, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

The Coast Guard and local agencies searched for Day Friday night and resumed looking early Saturday morning. Members of the Macomb County Dive Team recovered his body, the Coast Guard said in a news release.

The Coast Guard had a busy Friday as they rescued 17 people during two separate cases on Lake St. Clair. Shortly before 7 p.m. Friday, the Coast Guard Detroit command center received a call from the owner and operator of a 39-foot vessel with 15 people aboard stating that they were taking on water approximately four and one-half miles offshore from the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club.

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A 25-foot response boat from the St. Clair Shores Coast Guard Station and a MH-65 Dolphin helicopter responded, the Coast Guard said in a news release. The crew from Station St. Clair Shores arrived on scene within 10 minutes and began dewatering the boat. A vessel from Tow Boat U.S. also arrived on scene and began dewatering with two additional pumps.

The crew then began removing people and transported them to the Coast Guard Station in three separate trips, which was completed in about 40 minutes. All of the people were wearing life jackets and no injuries were reported.

The owner of the boat told the Coast Guard that he may have struck an object earlier in the day resulting in a small hole allowing water to enter the vessel.

In another incident Friday night, the crew aboard a Coast Guard Auxiliary boat that was involved in the search for a missing person on Lake St. Clair witnessed two people fall into the water when their boat capsized, the Coast Guard said in a news release. The Auxiliary crew diverted to the location, rescued the two people and towed the vessel back to shore. There were no injuries.

The Coast Guard stayed busy on Saturday when bad weather caused high waves caused one boat to capsize and another to take on water in Lake Erie. The Coast Guard rescued 19 people and escorted another 14 back to shore in four separate weather-related incidents, MLive reported.

File photo