TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — The U.S. Coast Guard says an aerial and ground search proved successful Friday night in finding a missing five-year-old boy in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore – and he’s in “good condition.”
He had been missing for more than an hour in the sprawling, 35-acre park along the Lake Michigan shoreline, according to a Coast Guard news release:
“A watchstander at Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan command center in Milwaukee received a request at about 6:30 p.m. local time from the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center asking for air assistance in helping the Sleeping Bear Dunes Park Rangers locate a 5-year-old boy”.
An MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter crew from the Coast Guard Air Station in Traverse City was dispatched a short time later to conduct the aerial search, around 8:30 p.m. Friday. “At about 9:15 p.m., the helicopter crew located the missing boy.
“A rescue swimmer was lowered to remain with him until first responders from the Glen Lake Fire Department could be directed to the location by the helicopter pilots. Members of the fire department then reunited the boy with his parents…”.
The little boy’s name is not being released.
Assisting the Coast Guard with the search were the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Park Rangers and the Glen Lake Fire Department, and the Leelanau County Sheriff’s Department.
