A local man is being remembered as a great mentor, a hard worker, and someone who loved his community after a search on Lake St. Clair turned tragic.
A multi-day effort to find a missing boater who slipped from the bow and fell overboard near Grosse Pointe Shores ended in the worst way. Family and friends have identified the man as 74-year-old businessman Michael Dunn.
According to the Detroit Free Press, the incident happened around 7 p.m. Sept. 5 as a man and woman aboard a 58-foot-long yacht tried to pull the anchor to go to dinner, when the man slipped and fell off the bow.
The U.S. Coast Guards, the Canadian Coast Guard and other agency partners conducted active search efforts to find Dunn. Three days later, Dunn’s body was recovered near Grosse Pointe Yacht Club in Michigan.
In his obituary, Dunn is described as the foundation of his family and someone who lived his life with boundless energy and generosity in his work, his charities, and his commitment to the people around him.
Peter Berry, Harbour Master of the Windsor Port Authority and a friend of Dunn, says he got a call from the Wayne County Sheriff’s office asking if he recognized the name of the man who went overboard... and he did.
“We put searches on in other ways and I kept in contact with the family and kept them advised. It’s very personal when a friend like this is caught up in a tragedy like this, but we just were looking for a positive outcome and unfortunately we didn’t get that.”
He says he met Dunn 17 years ago when he became Harbour Master. As Harbour Master, he introduced himself to all of those along the waterfront.
Berry says at the time, Dunn was operating an aggregate terminal on the water.
“He was one of the first guys to reach out to me and sort of welcome me in. And I got to know his son Jeremy as well. And I just found him to be such a great person to talk to. He was business... he was definitely all business, but he was also a good mentor for me.”
Berry says he cared deeply for the community, whether that was in Amherstburg or Sandwich Town.
“When I first came here and as we started to do things in the community, he was always willing to step up and help out in any way that he could. He’s very cognizant of needing to take care of the community that was taking care of him and his businesses. So I think that’s an important lesson to take away.”
In Dunn’s obituary, his family thanked the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Wayne County Sheriff’s department, the Grosse Pointe Shores department of public safety and the Wayne County medical examiners office for their compassionate and dedicated service.
The local community can show their support by planting a memorial tree in memory of Michael Dunn on the Windsor Chapel website.
-with files from CTV News Windsor’s Robert Lothian