Kayaker’s body found in Lake Michigan nearly 2 years later

BEULAH, Mich. – Authorities in northern Michigan believe they’ve found the body of a kayaker who went missing nearly two years ago.

Volunteers with high-tech equipment discovered a body Thursday in deep water in Lake Michigan’s Platte Bay. Benzie County Sheriff Ted Schendel tells MLive.com “they’re the heroes.”

In 2016, Tyler Spink of Kalkaska was paddling with a friend on Labor Day when their kayaks capsized. They had started at the mouth of the Platte River in Benzie County. Spink’s friend was rescued, but the 21-year-old disappeared below the surface.

Bruce’s Legacy is a Wisconsin-based group of volunteers that helps families of drowning victims. It’s named for Black River Falls firefighter Bruce Cormican, who died in 1995 while searching for a drowning victim.

Keith Cormican credited Spink’s mother, Kelly, for not “giving up.”

___

Information from: The Grand Rapids Press:MLive.com, http://www.mlive.com