Snow machine found during Search for Missing Snowmobiler

May 5, 2017 @ 14:46

Using an autonomous underwater vessel, officers with the Michigan State Police Marine Services Team Special Operations Division located what they believed to be a snow machine in the navigation channel of the St. Mary’s River just south of the US border.

 

The item was discovered at approximately 7:30 p.m. on May 3rd, 2017 and conditions were not ideal to conduct a further search at that time. On Thursday May 04, 2017, a dive team with O.P.P. Underwater Search and Recovery Unity entered the water and confirmed that the object is a snow machine in 47 feet of water.

 

As a result of this find, the search recovery operation for missing person John Szczepanik will focus in that area utilizing dive teams to search the water.  45-year-old John Szczepanik was last seen on March 5th, 2017 riding his snow machine on the ice near open water by Pine Shores Drive.