Update: Shipwreck found off Saugatuck could be 180 years old

SAUGATUCK -- A 60-foot ship that sat in Lake Michigan for as many as 180 years has been discovered in deep water between Saugatuck and South Haven.

Holland-based Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates found the shipwreck about a year ago in collaboration with nationally acclaimed author Clive Cussler and his sonar operator Ralph Wilbanks of the National Underwater & Marine Agency.

The single-masted sloop dates back to the 1830s and was likely moving goods or products across the lake when it sank, shipwreck researcher Craig Rich said. It is likely the oldest shipwreck discovered by the Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates, he said.

Rich said the group will continue to explore and research the wreck, and hope to find out its exact age and possibly identify which ship it is.