MAPLE VALLEY TOWNSHIP, Mich. — A Montcalm County pastor has died after falling through ice Wednesday evening.
Deputies responded to Spruce Lake in Maple Valley Township at around 6:10 p.m., according to the Montcalm County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO).
The 81-year-old man from Coral traveled to his nearby cottage several hours prior but did not come home when expected, deputies explained. His absence prompted his wife to search for him at the cottage.
MCSO says the victim’s wife asked family members to help search after being unable to find him on her own. Then one of them noticed the lake had a patch of broken ice and called 911.
We’re told the county’s dive team found the man beneath the ice. He was 20 yards away from shore, submerged under 12 feet of water.
The victim was pronounced dead after first responders pulled the man out of the water, MCSO says. It is believed he was working on the dock, as he often does when the lake is frozen, when he fell in.
The Emmanuel Baptist Church has identified the victim as Egbert Boes. He served as its pastor from 1983–2012 and continued to attend service after his retirement.
MCSO credits dispatchers, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, the Medical Examiner’s Office, Montcalm County Emergency Services, and the Lakeview Fire Department for their assistance.
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