A Wisconsin woman lost her husband and their three children — all of whom were under the age of 10 — after their kayak capsized during a trip to Lake Superior A Wisconsin woman lost her husband and their three children — all of whom were under the age of 10 — after their kayak capsized during a trip to Lake Superior. About an hour after the family began their kayak trip at 3 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 30, the weather became abruptly windy and their kayak began filling up with water before eventually capsizing, U.S. Coast Guard Master Chief Alan Haraf told Fox 9 Minneapolis. Get push notifications with news, features and more. “It’s known for having very unforgiving weather and being able to turn in an instant,” U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Justin Sickler told KAAL-TV. He also shared that after the boat began to take on water, the mother who survived got separated from her family because she stayed with the vessel in order to send a text message to reach out for help. However, due to bad cell reception, it took over four hours for the text to go through, according to the outlet. After receiving an “alarming text message reading ‘911’ and ‘Michigan Island’ from the woman later that evening, her sister reached out to the authorities on Thursday “at approximately 8:20 p.m.,” according to a statement from the Ashland County Sheriff’s Office. Police identified the woman who survived as Cari A. Mews, 29, according to a statement from the Ashland County Sherrif’s Office. They also identified the father as Erik D. Fryman, 39, and said that the children — whose names they did not share — were “ages 3, 6, and 9 years old.” apostle Credit: Education Images/UIG via Getty Images After investigating the call, the La Pointelle Police “determined the family had left the island in a kayak earlier in the day with the intention of touring the Apostle Island” in Lake Superior, the statement continued. A search and rescue mission was then launched by five organizations, including the U.S. Coast Guard and the USGS Research Vessel KIYI. The mother was the first to be found, after being rescued by the RN KIYI on the west side of Michigan Island just after 10 p.m. Hours later, “the father and two of the children were found deceased in the water after midnight,” but due to “strong thunderstorms,” the couple’s third child wasn’t found until the following morning, authorities said. RELATED VIDEO: Teen Survives for 10 Hours After Being Swept Into Dangerous Riptide: ‘This Is Truly a Miracle’ According to the Ashland County Sherif’s Office, “A preliminary statement from the mother indicated that the family’s kayak had capsized off the shore of Michigan Island.”<doc-sep>Advertisement Three kids, their dad killed in Wisconsin kayaking accident Woman reported receiving text messages that read '911,' 'Michigan Island' Share Shares Copy Link Copy Three children and their father died when their kayak capsized near a Wisconsin island in Lake Superior, authorities said Friday.The Ashland County Sheriff's Office said the children's mother was the only survivor of the accident.The two girls and one boy ranged in age from 3 to 9, The Ashland Daily Press reported. The family has not been identified because relatives are still being notified.The sheriff's office said rescue crews responded to Michigan Island after receiving a call around 8:30 p.m. Thursday from a woman who said her sister sent her alarming text messages that read "911" and "Michigan Island." The mother told rescuers everyone was wearing life jackets and that the family became separated when the kayak capsized.The family was vacationing on Madeline Island and were planning to tour the Apostle Islands, authorities said. They set off from Madeline Island at about 3 p.m., according to the U.S. Coast Guard, one of several agencies involved in the search and rescue operation.The mother sent her first text message asking for help about an hour later as the family was floating in the bay, but there was no cellphone service, according to the Coast Guard. "It wasn't until later in the evening when she had drifted into a service area that the text message finally went through," said Alan Haraf, a master chief with the Coast Guard.The sheriff's office said rescuers found the mother around 10 p.m. The father and two of the children were found dead just after midnight, the sheriff said, and rescue crews located the third child Friday morning.Authorities have not said how or why the kayak capsized. Chief Petty Officer Nicholas Sawyer, who commands a Coast Guard station near the islands, said he didn't know what the weather conditions were at the time of the accident.Other agencies involved in the search included the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Bayfield Fire and Rescue, the National Park Service, and the U.S. Geological Survey, which provided a ship. Crews also used a helicopter from Traverse City, Michigan.Get breaking news alerts with the WISN 12 app or our email newsletters.Follow us: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube<doc-sep>Sorry - The Page You are Looking for Doesn't Exist We can't seem to find the page you are looking for. It's possible the content has expired or has been moved. Perhaps if you use the sitemap below or the search box above, you might have better luck.<doc-sep>(CNN) — A family’s vacation on Lake Superior took a tragic turn when a kayak capsized, killing the father and three young children and leaving the mother as the sole survivor. Cari Mews, 29, and Erik Fryman, 39, took their children on an end-of-the-summer trip to visit the Apostle Islands on Lake Superior in northern Wisconsin. The family of five from Loyal, Wisconsin, vacationed in the area last year and looked forward to visiting again, Bobi Jo Mews, Cari’s sister, told CNN affiliate WCCO. “They loved to go camping together and they took their kids everywhere and explored the world,” she told the TV station. They were kayaking from Madeline Island to Michigan Island on Thursday afternoon when the wind and waves started picking up and caused water to get into the kayak, US Coast Guard spokesman Alan Haraf told CNN. The family’s 13 ½-foot craft tipped over and all five, each wearing a life jacket, fell into the open water, Haraf said. Cari Mews was able to use her cell phone, which was stored in a water-proof bag, to text her sister. “I got a text message that said ‘911,’ and then immediately following, ‘Michigan Island.’ I knew that they were going kayaking that day. … I just knew I had to call the police to see if they could go look for them,” Bobi Jo Mews told WCCO. The text message did not reach Cari Mews’ sister until about five hours later because there was no cell service in the area, according to Haraf. After the sister contacted authorities, a half-dozen agencies mobilized to aid in rescue efforts in search of the family. The Coast Guard issued an emergency broadcast to all boats in the area asking them to divert to where the kayak had capsized. USGS Research Vessel KIYI was the first boat to arrive on the scene. Around 10 p.m. CT, crews aboard the vessel spotted a small light coming from the water near Michigan Island. It was from Cari Mews, who had been submerged in 60-degree water for nearly six hours. “She was holding what was possibly a cell phone light,” Haraf told CNN. “She was exhausted and was suffering from hypothermia.” While attempting to swim to Michigan Island, Mews became separated from her husband and their children, ages 3, 6 and 9, in the choppy waters of Lake Superior, according to the Ashland County Sheriff’s Office, which aided in the rescue. “It was shortly after (midnight) when a Coast Guard crew located the bodies of the father, the little boy and one of the little girls,” Haraf told CNN. Thunderstorms in the area hampered rescue efforts until Friday morning. At that time, the body of the 9-year-old daughter was located on the shore of Michigan Island by the National Park Service. “Even with all the required safety equipment and all the right training, anything can happen when you get out on the lake,” the Coast Guard’s Justin Sickler told WCCO.<doc-sep>
A family's vacation in northeast Wisconsin turned tragic when their kayak capsized, killing the father and three children and leaving the mother as the only survivor. The plan was for Cari Mews, 29, Erik Fryman, 39, and their three kids — who were 3, 6 and 9 years old — to tour the Apostle Islands, a scenic region of cliffs and sea caves that stretch from Wisconsin's northernmost tip into Lake Superior, while they visited Mews' sister. After pushing off from Madeline Island on Thursday, the kayak capsized between Michigan and Stockton Islands around 4 p.m., and the five were left far from shore in 60-degree water, according to NBC affiliate KBJR. Eric Fryman, left, Annaliese, 5, Jansen, 3, held by Cari Mews, Kyra, 9, in front. Fryman and the children are dead after their kayak capsized off Lake Superior's Apostle Islands. Furnished By Bobi Mews Mews texted her sister the alarming and cryptic messages "911" and "Michigan Island" immediately after the accident, but the message was not delivered until around 8:30 p.m. due to poor cell service. Unsure of what to do, Mews' sister called the Ashland County Communications Center. La Pointe Police investigated and found out the family had left Madeline Island in a kayak. Authorities quickly scrambled the U.S. Coast Guard, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Bayfield Fire and Rescue, the National Park Service and the USGS Research Vessel Kiyi for a water air search and rescue mission. A crew of about 50 people battled through a thunderstorm and visibility of less than 100 yards to find the family, KBJR reported. Ultimately, the research vessel found Mews alive in the water west of Michigan Island a little after 10 p.m. The father and two of the children, however, were found dead in the water after midnight. The third child's body was found Friday at 10 a.m. near the shore of Michigan Island. The family was from Loyal, Wisconsin, about 180 miles south of the Apostle Islands. The incident remains under investigation by the Ashland County Sheriff's Office, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and the Ashland and Bayfield County Coroner's offices.