An evening walk turned into tragedy when a Somerset Township man fell through the ice on Lake Somerset over the weekend.
Somerset Township police were dispatched to the home of 48 year-old Charles Fausak IV, around 9:45 pm Saturday, after family members called to report him missing.
Fausak had taken his two dogs for a walk around 6:00 pm, and was late in returning home. Somerset Township Police Chief John Gessner tells WCSR News, Fausak was last seen walking Westbound on US 12 around 7:45 pm.
The Michigan State Police and Hillsdale County Sheriff’s Department were called in to assist in the search.
They used aerial drones and attempted to call a State Police helicopter to the scene. However, due to poor weather, the helicopter was unable to fly Saturday.
The search was called off around 2:00 am. Police and firefighters resumed their efforts at daylight Sunday.
With the clearing weather, the State Police helicopter was dispatched to the scene. The aircraft was enroute when Chief Gessner went to the boat launch, where he saw what appeared to be broken ice about 25 yards away from the launch.
The Somerset Township Fire Department brought in their water rescue equipment.
They were able to reach the area and recover the body of one of the dogs, However, they were unable to reach Fausak’s body and that of the second dog, which were a short distance away.
The Liberty Township fire department was dispatched with their Zodiak rubber boat, which was able to reach and recover Fausak and the second animal.
Gessner said there were no tracks leading from the boat launch to the area where the bodies were found, which may indicate that Fausak was walking across the lake and was unaware of the thin ice.
The incident remains under investigation.