Long-lost ship found in Lake Huron, confirming tragic story

By JOHN FLESHER
Associated Press

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Searchers have found a long-lost Great Lakes ship that came to a tragic end. Officials with the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary in Alpena, Michigan, say they’ve located the Ironton, a freight schooner that plunged to the bottom of Lake Huron in 1894. The Ironton collided with another vessel in rough seas. Reports at the time said the seven-member crew scrambled into a lifeboat but it was tethered to the ship and pulled down. Five crewmen died. Underwater video shows the well-preserved Ironton upright on the lake bottom — with the lifeboat still attached. Divers will be able to visit the wreckage when preparations are finished.