MACKINAC ISLAND, MI -- A man who apparently tried to swim a part of the Mackinac Island Straits on Saturday was lost for a while but found by the U.S. Coast Guard.

"A man visiting the island yesterday decided to swim from the beach in front of Mission Point towards Round Island yesterday afternoon," Jason St. Onge, chief of the Mackinac Island Fire Department, reported in a Facebook posting.

He did not specify the age of the man, but a Coast Guard officer contacted by telephone Sunday said the man was 35 years old and was located Saturday evening in the Round Island Pass about 1.5 miles southeast of Mission Point on Mackinac Island.

Round Island is just south of Mackinac Island. Round Island is in the straits that separate Mackinac Island from the much larger Bois Blanc Island.

"After swimming for 40 minutes, the man's friend on the beach lost sight of him when he was halfway across the channel," according to St. Onge.

He said the friend called 911 and a search-and-rescue effort was launched.

"Miraculously, almost 2.5 hours after entering the water, the man was spotted by a U.S. Coast Guard boat and pulled from the water," according to St. Onge. "He was taken to the Mackinac Island Medical Center where he was treated for hypothermia."

Coast Guard Petty Officer Charles Y. Smith said. "We got the call around 5:45. ... We picked him up at 8:24 p.m."

Smith said the man was actively swimming when he was located by a Coast Guard boat that launched from the small boat station at St. Ignace. The swimmer was being swept out toward Lake Huron, he said.

"He was cold and tired," Smith said.

St. Onge stated rescue units from Mackinac Island were dispatched in addition to U.S. Coast Guard boats and a helicopter. A boat with the Mackinac County Sheriff's Office was also dispatched.

He warned people against trying to swim in the Straits of Mackinac, saying they have tremendous currents and "It's no small miracle he was spotted. When someone is lost in the water, there are very few success stories."

He credited a coordinated effort by several agencies for the successful rescue.