MANITOWOC, Wis. – For those who live on the shores of Lake Michigan,[1] many stories of shipwrecks[2] and disappearances are all credited to one phenomenon — the Lake Michigan Triangle.
Similar to the Bermuda Triangle, the Lake Michigan Triangle is an area between Manitowoc in Wisconsin and Ludington and Benton Harbor in Michigan where ships and airplanes have vanished and people have reported seeing strange flashes of light or ghostly apparitions.
Ships have sailed the Great Lakes since at least the 17th century, when the Le Griffon became the first recorded ship to travel the waters of Lake Michigan.
Since then, there have been an estimated 1,500 shipwrecks in Lake Michigan, only 300 of which have been found, according to the Michigan Shipwreck Research Association[3].
Explanations for the unusual events within the Triangle range from the pragmatic — like bad weather — to the fantastical — like aliens[4] or time portals. Some have even blamed a Stonehenge-like formation of stones found at the bottom of Lake Michigan[5] in 2007.
While we may never know the real cause of these strange disappearances and incidents, here are four stories from Lake Michigan Triangle lore.
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Sailing on in the face of a storm
Many believe the first disappearance credited to the Lake Michigan Triangle was that of the schooner Thomas Hume[8].
According to the Michigan Shipwreck Research Association, in May 1891, the schooner left the port in Chicago alongside the Rouse Simmons, which is known by many as the Christmas Tree Ship. The two ships were bound for Muskegon, Michigan, but they encountered a storm.
The captain of the Rouse Simmons turned around and sailed back to Chicago to wait out the storm, but the Thomas Hume continued on, and that was the last time anybody saw the ship or the six men aboard.
An extensive search of the lake and nearby ports was undertaken by Hackley and Hume, the company that owned the Thomas Hume, but nothing was found of the ship, not even small debris.
The wreck was finally found in 2005 by a diver with A&T Recovery out of Chicago, according to MLive.com. The schooner was found under 145 feet of water with the hull intact but all three of its masts broken.
A single-ship collision
Another schooner, the Rosabelle, had two crews disappear while onboard in the middle of Lake Michigan.
According to Frederick Stonehouse in his book "Haunted Lake Michigan[9]," a car ferry crossing the lake in 1875 found the schooner floating upside down with no sign of the 10 people who were supposed to be onboard.
The ship was righted and brought back to the port in Milwaukee and returned to service. However, 36 years later in 1911, the Rosabelle was found again overturned and floating with no sign of any crew or passengers.
According to Stonehouse, the stern was missing this time, which implied there had been a collision. However, no other ship reported a collision or showed up in nearby ports with unexplained damage.
With the discovery of the Thomas Hume wreck in 2005, the Rosa Belle can be credited as the earliest story of an unexplained disappearance in the Lake Michigan Triangle.
Oh captain, my captain
Perhaps one of the stranger disappearances in the Triangle is that of Captain George R. Donner. He was captain of the O.M. McFarland, a steamer ship that carried cargo such as coal.
One day in April 1937, after a long day of guiding the ship around ice floes on the lake, Donner retired to his cabin for a brief rest, according to Stonehouse. His cabin was next to the pilothouse and the crew had a good view of the door leading to it.
A few hours after Donner had gone into his cabin, the crew knocked at his door. No answer.
Thinking maybe he had slipped out of his room for a snack in the galley or some fresh air on deck, the crew began searching, but there was still no sign of him.
Eventually, the crew decided to forcibly open the captain’s locked door and were surprised to find he was gone.
According to Stonehouse, what makes his disappearance even more unlikely is that Donner was too large to fit through the two portholes in his room and the only door was locked from the inside.
The crew alerted nearby ports and ships to search for the captain in the water in case he did somehow go overboard, but no sign of him was ever found.
That was no minor air pocket
While many of the disappearances in the Lake Michigan Triangle have affected ships, traveling by air through the Triangle may also hold similar dangers.
According to Stonehouse, that is the fate Flight 2501 from Northwest Orient Airlines[10] met on June 23, 1950. The flight was crossing the country from New York City to Seattle with a stop in Minneapolis. Because of thunderstorms in the Midwest, the plane had to adjust its flight plan, running between South Haven and Ludington, Michigan.
Air traffic records show the plane's captain called in at 11:51 p.m. local time to update his planned flyover in Milwaukee at 11:37 p.m. The plane was cruising at an altitude of 3,500 feet, but was still flying over Lake Michigan to avoid the storms at 12:13 a.m., when the captain requested permission to descend in altitude. Since there were other flights in the area, that permission could not be granted, and that is the last known communication from Flight 2501.
When the plane failed to check in over Milwaukee, the airline began trying to locate it with no success.
The next day, an oil slick and airplane debris was found floating near Benton Harbor, Michigan. For several days afterward, more debris and human body parts were found floating nearby, but no wreckage was ever found.
Adding to the mystery, Stonehouse reports that several witnesses from Glenn, Michigan, claim to have seen the plane cruising low over the village just after midnight. They heard the engine and saw a flash of light, but nothing else. The airline determined the cause of the plane's disappearance as "unknown," according to Stonehouse.
Follow reporter Alisa Schafer on Twitter: @AlisaMSchafer.[11]
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References
- ^ shores of Lake Michigan, (bit.ly)
- ^ shipwrecks (https://ift.tt/3mszQHB)
- ^ Michigan Shipwreck Research Association (https://ift.tt/3pS5S24)
- ^ aliens (www.htrnews.com)
- ^ Stonehenge-like formation of stones found at the bottom of Lake Michigan (https://ift.tt/31hhb9G)
- ^ Moment by moment details of how fatal 'Rust' movie set shooting unfolded (www.usatoday.com)
- ^ These are the most desirable and well-paid college degrees in America (www.usatoday.com)
- ^ Thomas Hume (https://ift.tt/3pS5S24)
- ^ Haunted Lake Michigan (www.goodreads.com)
- ^ Flight 2501 from Northwest Orient Airlines (en.wikipedia.org)
- ^ @AlisaMSchafer. (twitter.com)
- ^ Why some people passionately hate celebrities like James Corden, Anne Hathaway (www.usatoday.com)
- ^ 'Narco-submarines' play a growing role in ferrying drugs bound for the United States and elsewhere (www.usatoday.com)
- ^ Sign up (profile.usatoday.com)
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