Shipwreck remains were spotted in the clear waters of Lake Michigan near Sleeping Bear Dunes on Friday, April 17 while the Traverse City Coast Guard was out on a routine patrol. Petty Officer Mitch Brown took pictures of a few shipwrecks that could be seen along the Lake Michigan shoreline. According to the US Coast Guard Facebook post, the photos were taken near Sleeping Bear Point northeast along the shoreline to Leland and up to Northport.

According to Lt. Dan Schrader the pictures were taken with an iPhone. “Petty Officer Mitch Brown saw them and started snapping photos,” he says.

Since the release of the pictures, national coverage has ranged from NBC to Smithsonian.com and several people have come forward with more information about the shipwrecks. The information has been posted as captions on the pictures on the US Coast Guard Facebook page. Two of the shipwrecks were identified as the Rising Sun and James McBride.

Photo credit: Petty Officer Mitch Brown/US Coast Guard

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Photo(s) by Petty Officer Mitch Brown/US Coast Guard