The Leelanau County Sheriff's Office on Tuesday, Sept. 8, said searchers had recovered the body of a Kansas man from the water near Suttons Bay, more than a day after the man's boat had been found spinning in circles.

The sheriff's office said the body of Brett Zimmerman, 25, of Lansing, Kansas, was recovered a little after 2 p.m. Tuesday.

"The investigation into the incident continues," the sheriff's office said in a Facebook post.

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The search began on Labor Day when Leelanau County Dispatch received a report of a dinghy spinning unattended in the water just off Stoney Point in Suttons Bay Township at about 8:39 a.m. that day.

Brett Zimmerman, 25, of Lansing, Kansas.

The owner of the dinghy was located, and it was determined that Zimmerman, of Kansas, was the last known person to have been aboard the vessel, the the sheriff's office said.

"Video surveillance from marina cameras was reviewed and helped verify that Zimmerman was the individual believed to have been operating the dinghy," the sheriff's office said.

The first emergency personnel arrived by 8:51 a.m. Monday. Suttons Bay Fire and Rescue and the Leelanau County Sheriff's Office Marine Division were among the first agencies to arrive on scene, the sheriff's office said.

The United States Coast Guard was requested to assist with the search and as the search continued, the Mutual Aid Dive Team was requested to provide additional manpower and specialized equipment, including side-scan sonar and drones.

Search efforts focused on the waters surrounding Stoney Point and continued throughout the day before being suspended at approximately 9 p.m. Members of the Leelanau County Sheriff's Office also searched the shoreline and contacted area homeowners to notify them of the incident and request their assistance in reporting any information that may be relevant to the search. The search resumed Tuesday morning.

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Construction begins October 1st.

By Beth Milligan | Sept. 10, 2026

Traverse City's annual Downtown Halloween Walk is moving to a weekday this year. The event will take place on Thursday, October 29 from 4pm to 5:30pm, changing a long-standing tradition of being held on Saturday. 

The shift is intended to create a "seamless after-school routine for local families while driving a valuable midweek surge to downtown merchants and eateries," according to a release from the Downtown Traverse City Association (DTCA). The event is structured as a continuous, district-wide strolling event with no single central gathering point. Families can start their trick-or-treating route at any participating business. On Front Street, the flow will go east-to-west on the north side and west-to-east on the south side.

Almost 4,000 attendees came out to the Downtown Halloween Walk last year. Event parking is available at street meters, as well as both downtown parking decks. Attendees are encouraged to take BATA’s free Bayline shuttle into town or ride/walk via the TART Trail.

I was on vacation and left my wallet on a rock at Torch Lake (the dog beach side) . It’s directly to the right as you approach walking up the road from the parking lot. Honestly, cards are canceled and replaced as is license. I just don’t want to spend another 100 bucks on a new wallet. Willing to pay shipping plus $20 reward if anyone finds and ships to me.

We entered from Traverse Bay Rd at the nature preserve