Missing mid-Michigan fishermen found

UPDATED 7:25 P.M. MONROE - Four fisherman missing in the Lake Erie have been found alive near their capsized boat off Middle Sister Island in Lake Erie. U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Brandon Blackwell said Monroe County Sheriff’s deputies found the men about 5:45 p.m. Authorities identified the four as Douglas Whittaker, 76, of Eaton Rapids; Roy Letson, 52, of Charlotte; Vert, 64, of Lansing, and Ronnie Miller, 63, of Eaton Rapids. They left Sterling State Park in Monroe around 8 a.m. Thursday in a 19-foot Sylvan fishing boat, U.S. Coast Guard Commander Dave Beck said this morning. David Zachman, whose stepfather, 64-year-old Larry Vert, was among the missing, said the U.S. Coast Guard called his mother about 6 p.m. to let her know the men were found alive. The four Michigan men were last seen after leaving to fish for walleye about 8 a.m. Thursday. The men showed signs of hypothermia, but no other serious injuries. They are being taken to shore and will be examined. It was still unclear, Blackwell said, why the boat capsized. Search and rescue crews had crisscrossed Lake Erie off Monroe by boat and plane since Thursday night looking for the men. Authorities identified the four as Douglas Whittaker, 76, of Eaton Rapids; Roy Letson, 52, of Charlotte; Larry Vert, 64, of Lansing, and Ronnie Miller, 63, of Eaton Rapids. They left Sterling State Park in Monroe around 8 a.m. Thursday in a 19-foot Sylvan fishing boat, according to U.S. Coast Guard Commander Dave Beck. Whittaker’s daughter contacted the Coast Guard at roughly 10 p.m. Thursday when they hadn’t heard from the men. The four fishermen, some of whom are related, are between the ages of 52 and 75, according to Erma Whittaker, Douglas Whittaker’s wife. “We have no reason to believe their boat’s overturned, but we don’t know what we’re looking for,” Beck said. Erma Whittaker said that the men are avid fisherman. This trip, they were out for walleye. “They were supposed to be back for dinner last night,” she explained. Sharon Letson said this was husband Roy Letson’s first fishing trip. Vert, though, is an experienced angler, who enjoys fishing year-round. “Every week, he goes fishing two days,” his wife, Royalyn Vert, said. “He’s a person who retired to go fishing.” Vert, 65, a retired Lansing accountant, left with the three men about 8 a.m. Thursday. He and Whittaker, who owns the boat, know each other through church, said Zachman, 42, of Madison Heights. Zachman and his wife, Bonnie, 40, arrived at the park about lunchtime with a picture of Vert, hoping other park visitors or boaters may recognize him and offer a lead to where the men were last seen. “He loves fishing,” Bonnie Zachman said. In fact, he was scheduled to take another fishing trip today with another friend, she said. Royalyn Vert said she had become worried when her husband and the others didn’t show up Thursday evening. Rangers were alerted and found the men’s boat trailer and vehicle at the boat launch, she said. For more on this story, read Saturday's Lansing State Journal.

One person dead after south Lansing car crash

One person is dead after an early morning car crash at a southside Lansing auto dealership. Lansing police Capt. Ray Hall said that at about 2 a.m. this morning a vehicle was being driven northbound on Pennsylvania Avenue when it left the roadway and collided with several new vehicles parked at the Glenn Buege Buick Pontiac GMC dealership, located at 3625 S. Pennsylvania Ave. The driver, whose identity has not been released, was transported to Sparrow Hospital and was pronounced dead shortly after arrival. The cause of the accident remains under investigation. At least four new vehicles parked in the dealer's lot were damaged, Hall said. Check back with www.lsj.com for updates.

Clerk shot in robbery at Lansing gas station

Lansing police are searching for two men they say robbed a Lansing gas station and shot a clerk Thursday night. Police Capt. Ray Hall said that at about 10:30 p.m. two men armed with handguns entered the Citgo gas station at 500 W. Mt. Hope Ave. and demanded money. Before leaving with an undisclosed amount of cash, the robbers shot the clerk, he said. The clerk, a 62-year-old Lansing man, was transported to a local hospital. His injuries are not considered life threatening. No arrests have been made in the case, Hall said. Hall did not release how many times or where the clerk had been shot. Police believe this robbery is connected to several other armed robberies that have occurred around the mid-Michigan area in recent weeks. "We're very concerned that the suspects are escalating in their use of violence," Hall said. One of the suspects is described as a black male in his late teens to early 20s, about 5 feet 6 inches tall with a husky build. The other is described as an approximately 25- to 27-year-old black male about 5 feet 10 inches tall with a thin build. Hall said Lansing police are working with other mid-Michigan police agencies to identify and apprehend the suspects. Anyone with information about the incident is urged to call Lansing police at 483-4600 or to call Crime Stoppers at 483-STOP.