Two Overturned Kayaks Prompt Michigan Water Rescue
May 04—TRAVERSE CITY—A Bellaire woman and her son were rescued from Torch Lake after their kayaks overturned in frigid water.
Stephanie Marie Holbel, 35, is listed in serious condition at Munson Medical Center, where rescue crews took her Saturday afternoon. Holbel's kayak overturned in Torch Lake while she paddled with her son, Shae Somers, 16.
Somers' kayak also overturned after he tried to help his mother, according to the Antrim County sheriff's department.
Bellaire District Fire Department Chief Joseph Baker said both kayakers suffered hypothermia in the Saturday afternoon incident. He said firefighters responded and found at least one victim unresponsive.
"They were able to revive them and get them to the hospital," he said.
Kalkaska Township Fire Chief Derek Hogerheide said his firefighters prepared a landing site for a rescue helicopter, but the victims were eventually transported to Munson Medical Center by ambulance. Hogerheide said he was informed Sunday that doctors put Holbel in a medically-induced coma to let her body rest.
"I just think it's remarkable they're alive," he said.
Neither Holbel nor Somers wore a life jacket.
Copyright 2015 - The Record-Eagle, Traverse City, Mich.
