Ann Arbor man drowns after kayak sinks near Port Austin

POINT AUX BARQUES TOWNSHIP — An Ann Arbor man drowned here Sunday afternoon after his family’s kayak sank east of Turnip Rock.

Christopher Peterson, 42, was not wearing a life jacket. Nor was his wife, Sarah. But their sons, ages 5 and 8, were, said Robert Hobkirk, Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) officer for Huron County.

“The kayak took on water, and it was choppy out,” Hobkirk said, when it sank, and the family went into the water.

The family had set out from Eagle Bay one mile west of Grindstone City, and made it one-quarter mile east of Turnip Rock when the kayak sunk.

Sarah Peterson and the oldest son were swimming and rescued by a private boat passing by, Hobkirk said.

The 5-year-old was holding on to a red kayak, which a female was paddling nearby, Hobkirk said.

“At that point they learned that (Christopher Peterson) had gone under water,” Hobkirk said.

At 12:52 p.m., someone called 911.

The DNR heard of the accident over the radio, and sent three officers out to search on a patrol boat. The Huron County Sheriff’s Marine Division, the U.S. Coast Guard in Harbor Beach, and a helicopter from the U.S. Coast Guard in Detroit assisted at the scene.

After a nearly four-hour search, a private boater discovered Peterson’s body. The marine division recovered it at 5:40 p.m.

Hobkirk said that everyone in a kayak or canoe must have a life jacket with them, but it’s best that everyone be wearing his or her life jacket while on board.

“Obviously, life jackets are the most important thing,” Hobkirk said. “It doesn’t apply in this situation, but using common sense when heading out in a canoe or kayak is important.”

Weather and water conditions should be noted, he said.