CLEVELAND — The Coast Guard rescued a 55-year-old man after he was reported missing in Porcupine Mountains State Park west of Ontonagon, Michigan, Saturday night.
At 10:30 p.m., watchstanders at the Coast Guard 9th District Command Center in Cleveland received a report from the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida, of a 55-year-old man who was reported overdue from a hike in Porcupine Mountains State Park.
The man’s wife dropped him off at a trailhead around noon and they planned to meet back there at 6 p.m., but he failed to arrive. Multiple calls to the man’s cell phone were unsuccessful.
Michigan State Police troopers were searching, but due to darkness, rugged terrain and lack of access to any of their forward looking infra-red capable helicopters, they requested federal assistance from the AFRCC.
Coast Guard 9th District watchstanders briefed crews at Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City, Michigan, who were already preparing to fly on a distress broadcast, aboard a Dolphin helicopter. After completing the search for the distress broadcast, with negative sightings, the aircrew proceeded to the inland state park to search for the missing man.
When the aircrew spotted the man, he had built a fire and was signaling the helicopter by waving his flashlight.
The crew hoisted him aboard the helicopter and took him to a nearby airport where they were met by the man’s family. No injuries were reported.
