A man swept into Lake Superior at Marquette’s Black Rocks was found dead the next morning near Lakewood Lane in Harvey, about seven miles away. Rough lake conditions prevented an immediate water search; crews located him after the search resumed the following day.
The incident happened at Presque Isle Park near Black Rocks, an outcropping on Lake Superior that draws visitors to Marquette, according to ClickOnDetroit. Witnesses told the outlet they last saw the man being carried south by currents out of the cove. The Marquette Police Department received the 911 call.
Responders attempted to reach the man, but conditions made an on-water search unsafe, mlive.com reported. The outlet cited a Gale Warning, high winds and forecast waves of up to 17 feet. Crews waited for conditions to ease before continuing.
An Overnight Wait, Then a Discovery Near Harvey
A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter crew from Traverse City searched from the air the next morning, according to mlive.com. At 8:22 a.m., Marquette and Chocolay Township police responded to a report of a body in the water near Lakewood Lane in Harvey, roughly seven miles from Presque Isle Park. Officers found and recovered the body near the shoreline, the outlet reported.
The body was confirmed to be the man who had gone into the water at Black Rocks the previous day, the outlet reported. Police identified him as a 62-year-old man from the Calumet area, according to mlive.com and ClickOnDetroit. His name had not been released.
A Wide Response From Local Agencies
Multiple agencies took part in the search and recovery. ClickOnDetroit listed the Marquette Fire Department, Marquette County Sheriff's Office, Northern Michigan University Police Department, Michigan DNR Conservation, UPHS-Marquette EMS and the U.S. Coast Guard. Mlive.com also reported assistance from the Marquette County Sheriff's Office, Chocolay Township Fire Department and UPHS-Marquette EMS after the body was reported in Harvey.
After the incident, Marquette police urged the public to stay away from the lake during inclement weather, warning that conditions can become hazardous quickly, ClickOnDetroit reported. Black Rocks has seen other deadly incidents: in October 2017, Robert Anderson, 53, and Sarah Hall, 37, both of Iron River, were washed into Lake Superior during a storm, with waves reaching nearly 30 feet and wind gusts topping 75 mph, according to mlive.com.
A Separate Recovery at Pictured Rocks
A separate Lake Superior recovery occurred at Chapel Beach in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore on July 3, 2025, according to the National Park Service. That was a different date and location from the Black Rocks incident; the NPS notice reports a body recovery but does not establish that its circumstances matched the man being swept into the lake at Black Rocks.
A Dangerous Lake, By the Numbers
The Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project reported 86 Great Lakes drownings through late September 2026, including 45 in Lake Michigan, according to its statistics. The figures provide regional context for the risks around the lakeshore; authorities have urged caution in severe weather.
