True Life Tuesday: The Lake Michigan Triangle

Just like the better known Bermuda Triangle this area of Lake Michigan is known for strange phenomena. However, I do not remember hearing about this until recently even though I have lived in Michigan my entire life.

The Lake Michigan Triangle runs from Benton Harbor, Michigan on the southeast side, Ludington, Michigan on the northeast side and Manitowoc, Wisconsin on the northwest side. Many ships and even a plane have disappeared in the area.

The first known incident occurred in 1679. The Le Griffin set sail and never returned. No sign of the ship was ever seen.

In 1891 the schooner Thomas Hulme set sail to pick up lumber and was also never found.  

The Mary McLane was sailing in the area in 1893 when the crew said that they witnessed large chunks of ice falling from the sky for 30 minutes. 

In 1921 eleven people from Benton Harbor House of David set sail on the Rosa Belle. The ship was found but no one was aboard. It appeared that the ship had a collision with something but there was no sign of another ship nearby.

Probably the strangest incident occurred in 1937. George Donner was the captain of the O.M. McFarland. One evening he went to his cabin and left a letter for the crew to wake him up when they got to port. When the crew went to get him they found his door locked from the inside and the captain was nowhere to be found. 

Finally, there is the 1950 disappearance of Northwest Orient Airlines flight 2501. The flight vanished with only body fragments and light debris recovered. Right before the plane disappeared from radar the pilot requested to descend his cruising altitude due to extreme turbulence.

Just like the Bermuda Triangle there are many theories as to what is going on in the area. Electromagnetic fields and aliens are always popular theories. Who knows if we will ever really know what is causing these incidents to occur.