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VIDEO: Michigan kayaker rescued after overturning in frigid lake

CBS News Detroit Digital Brief for Oct. 23, 2023
CBS News Detroit Digital Brief for Oct. 23, 2023 03:03

LONG LAKE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - A Michigan State Police trooper and a local boater helped rescue a kayaker who had been overturned in a frigid lake for about an hour, officials said. 

At about 1:50 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 21, Trooper Park from the MSP Traverse City Post responded to a 911 call from a distressed kayaker who had overturned on Long Lake in Long Lake Township. 

According to MSP, the temperature outside at that time was 47 degrees Fahrenheit, and the water temperature was 53 degrees Fahrenheit. 

A man on the shoreline with a boat helped Trooper Park rescue the kayaker, who was shivering and had started to lose fine motor skills. 

The kayaker was identified as a 37-year-old West Olive man. 

"A Long Lake Fire Department member arrived on another vessel operated by local citizens," said MSP in a release. "The local citizens, with help from Long Lake Fire Department personnel, were able to recover the kayak boat and belongings."

The kayaker was taken to a hospital to be treated for hypothermia. 

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