Body Is Spotted Near Wreckage of the Fitzgerald
Explorers in a mini-submarine spotted human remains on the floor of Lake Superior near the Edmund Fitzgerald shipwreck, the expedition leader said Wednesday.
The body is believed to be one of the 29 crew members who perished when the Fitzgerald sank in a violent storm on Nov. 10, 1975, said Fred Shannon, a businessman leading the three-day voyage to examine the wreck for a forthcoming documentary and book.
No bodies had been seen during four previous examinations of the Fitzgerald grave site, including a submarine excursion by a different group earlier this month.
It is widely believed that most of the crew members are entombed inside the wreckage.
“We were not looking for bodies and didn’t really anticipate finding any,” Shannon said.
He said he had notified the Canadian government of the find. The ship’s wreckage lies in Canadian territory, about 535 feet under water, 17 miles from Whitefish Point, Mich.
Bernice Field of Canada’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism said her office or the explorers must contact police, who may try to recover the body.
Shannon said the body, partly clad in what appeared to be seaman’s coveralls, was not in the wreck but near the bow of the ship and under some debris.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
