Missing Diver Search in Lake Michigan
On Friday, June 28, 2019, James and Susan Winn went on a technical diving excursion on the shipwreck L.R. Doty, on Lake Michigan, 23 miles offshore from Milwaukee. The L.R. Doty shipwreck is around 300′ deep. Something, still unknown, went terribly wrong. Susan came to the surface unconscious and was pronounced dead at the hospital. Jim remained missing. The Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Department requested our assistance in finding him. I had dove this wreck some years ago and am knowledgeable regarding it.
Beth and I left Sunday evening for Milwaukee area, hoping to get an early start onto the Lake. We met with the DNR Wardens and the Milwaukee Sheriff’s Department Deputies. The Lake was very cooperative, making our 45-minute run, out to the search area very safe. We deployed our Klein 3900 Sonar System, with 600′ of cable out. On the second pass, we found the sonar image we were hoping for. We then put our Outland 2500 ROV into the water for a live look. We located Jim Winn and brought him to the surface utilizing the ROV. We’d like to give a special thanks to the Wisconsin DNR, the Coast Guard, as well as Captain Bob from the Charter Service. Captain Bob shared information that resulted in a very smooth, quick and successful search. Our very deepest sympathies to the Winn’s family and friends.