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By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief
HAMLIN TOWNSHIP — The Mason County Sheriff’s Office has released the name of the victim who passed away from a probable drowning at the Ludington State Park Tuesday. Mark Scholes, 44, of Oskaloosa, Iowa was pronounced dead at Corewell Health Ludington Hospital Tuesday afternoon after he was transported to the hospital.
According to Mason County Sheriff Kim Cole, emergency crews were dispatched to the scene at 1:49 p.m. for a report of a person struggling in the water.
“Several persons entered the water in an effort to assist the subject, however, by the time he was reached he had slipped under the surface,” Cole reported. “Those citizens who responded were able to locate the victim under the surface and pull him to a raft, and then to shore where CPR was started.”
Scholes was transported by ambulance to Corewell Health Ludington Hospital where he was pronounced deceased at 2:50 p.m., according to Cole, who is stating the probable cause of death is drowning.
Emergency units responding to the scene included Mason County Sheriff’s Office, Hamlin Township Fire Department, Ludington Fire Department, Life EMS, Ludington Police Department, Michigan State Police and Ludington State Park personnel.
The death is the second water-related death to occur in Mason County this year. In February, Thomas Patrick Moran, 70, of Livonia, died while fishing on the Pere Marquette River in Branch Township. According to Sheriff Cole, Moran’s death was determined to be a drowning. The last Lake Michigan drowning to occur in Mason County happened on Sept. 3, 2023 when an 82-year-old Midland, Mich. man drowned at Summit Township Park.
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