father and three children — ages 3, 5, and 9 — died in a kayaking accident Thursday night near the Apostle Islands of Lake Superior. The mother is the sole survivor.
Eric Fryman, 39, of Loyal, Wisconsin, died during the family’s vacation to the Apostle Islands. Wife and mother 29 year-old Cari A. Mews-Fryman, also of Loyal, was the only survivor. The incident is still under investigation by the Ashland County Sheriff’s Office, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and Ashland and Bayfield County Coroner’s Office.
Ashland County Sheriff Michael Brennan said his office received a call from the Mews’ sister at 8:29 p.m. Thursday. She reported alarming text messages from Mews, who was vacationing with her husband and three children. The messages read “911” and “Michigan I
The family of five was kayaking to Michigan Island from Madeline Island. U.S. Coast Guard Master Chief Alan Haraf said on the way their boat started taking on water, capsized and sank.
“The father tried to swim to Michigan Island with the children and the mother remained with the kayak,” he said. “At some point, she got separated from the kayak.”
Haraf said Mews showed signs of hypothermia when she was rescued by the nearby U.S. Geological Survey research vessel around 10 p.m.
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