MUNISING, Mich. (WZMQ) – UPDATE 2:45 p.m. Thursday:
The National Park Service confirms the search for 32-year-old James Bake has shifted to a recovery effort. The U.S. Coast Guard suspended the air and water search, and NPS staff are searching on the ground by foot.
Susan Reece, the Chief of Interpretation at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, said the Lake Superior water temperature is so cold that it’s likely Bake could have died within 30 minutes of falling into the water. She said Bake and another climber were scaling the ice at Miners Castle about five to six feet above the lake when a wave knocked Bake off the cliff face.
Reece said choppy waters and waves led the USCG to suspend the search Wednesday after no sightings of Bake’s body.
The NPS will provide an update when Bake’s body is located.
UPDATE 4:25 p.m. Wednesday:
The United State Coast Guard suspends the search of the missing ice climber in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.
The USCG said the man, identified as James Bake, 32 of Gaylord, was climbing with a friend when he fell. The USCG received a report of the incident at 5:15 p.m. Tuesday.
The USCG Sault Ste. Marie sector joined with the National Park Service Rangers and Alger County Rescue 21. The USCG also sent an ice rescue team from Station Marquette and an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Traverse City.
Difficult weather conditions prevented the ice rescue team from launching. The helicopter searched later into the evening but was unable to find Bake. A second helicopter from Traverse City returned Wednesday morning and completed its search with no sightings.
The USCG said even with highly specialized safety gear, recreation on and around ice and cold water is inherently dangerous.
The Coast Guard urges anyone participating in these activities to remember:
• Take precautions, not chances. Survival time in cold water is greatly diminished.
• Wear a life jacket and dress for the water temperatures, not the air temperatures. Cold water lowers
body heat dramatically faster than cold air.
• Whenever possible, carry a VHF-FM radio or personal locator beacon. Remember, freezing
temperatures drain batteries quickly.
• Be sure to tell someone where you are going and when you expect to return, and use the buddy
system whenever possible. Every minute counts in a cold-water environment.
UPDATE 4:00 p.m.
The National Park Service has identified the climber as 32-year-old James Bake of Gaylord, Mich.
The NPS said Bake was climbing when a wave from Lake Superior knocked him off.
The search and investigation continues.
ORIGINAL STORY:
The search for an ice climber who fell off the cliff near Miners Castle at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore has resumed Wednesday morning.
The search began on Tuesday evening shortly after the climber fell from the cliff at approximately 5:00 p.m. Due to weather and water conditions, the search was halted around 9:00 p.m.
According to the National Park Service, the search is being conducted with the help of the U.S. Coast Guard and the Alger County Rescue 21. Agencies were searching on the water, as well as from the cliffs above where the climber fell.
A helicopter from the U.S. Coast Guard Station in Traverse City was also on the scene to assist in the search mission.
There was one other person with the fallen climber at the time, according to the National Park Service, and this area along the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is a common area for the activity.
WZMQ will continue to follow this story and update it as more information becomes available.
