GRAND HAVEN (WWJ) - Efforts to find a missing fisherman on Lake Michigan continue after the U.S. Coast Guard recovered his unoccupied vessel off coast of Grand Haven on Wednesday.
The USCG Great Lakes Station said 61-year-old David Split of Fruitport was reported missing by family members after he failed to return from a fishing trip on Lake Michigan Tuesday (Sept. 12) night.
According to the Fruitport Police Department, Split began his journey out of Spring Lake in a 29-foot Blue Sea Sundancer, named A & A. He was last seen near Grand Haven, but his phone last pinged six miles off Holland, Mich.
According to officials, the 61-year-old boater is known to fish near the mouth of the Grand River and slightly offshore.
Crews from USCG Stations Grand Haven and St. Joseph, along with MH-60 helicopter from Air Station Traverse City and a C-130 fixed wing from Elizabeth City, N.C., searched roughly 1,800 square nautical miles overnight into Wednesday with a Royal Canadian Air Force C-130 Hercules aircraft joining efforts in the morning.
According to officials, the search area in Lake Michigan is roughly the size of the State of Delaware.
Around 2:20 p.m. on Wednesday, coast guardsman spotted Split's boat 32 nautical miles west of Grand Haven -- but the the 61-year-old was not onboard.
"Coast Guard air and surface assets and other agencies, including a U.S. Air Force MQ9 drone, continued intensive search on Lake Michigan overnight for missing fisherman," officials said
The USCG added that efforts continued Thursday morning with Coast Guardsmen from Traverse City canvassing the area by helicopter and with Station Grand Haven crews searching by water.
Anyone who may have any information about Split's whereabouts has been asked to call 414-747-7182.
This is a developing story. Stay tuned to WWJ LIVE for the latest updates.