3 Duck Hunters Rescued After Being Stranded on Saginaw Bay

The Huron County Sheriff reported that they retrieved three stranded kayaking duck hunters on Saginaw Bay last Saturday.

At 9:20 pm Huron Central Dispatch was contacted by a duck hunter off the Geiger Road public access site in Fairhaven Township, who reported that he and two other male hunters were stranded around a mile from the access site. He and his hunting partners had taken two kayaks and a 14-foot boat with an outboard motor on it out hunting earlier in the day.

Nighttime Airboat Rescue

When they attempted to return, the wind blew too hard to paddle the kayaks in, and the boat motor quit. Deputies from other Huron and Tuscola County Sheriff’s Offices responded, along with firefighters from the Caseville Fire Department. The fire department brought the Sheriff’s airboat to the scene. The three men, a 26-year-old from Battle Creek, a 37-year-old from Richland, and a 30-year-old from Lawton, were retrieved and brought back to the access site in the choppy water without further incident.

Sheriff Kelly Hanson noted that all three duck hunters rescued were dressed appropriately for the weather and had functioning cellular phones to call for help. However, this isn’t always the case; hunters venturing onto the bay are reminded to have backup plans if something goes wrong.