On Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, at about 6:25 p.m., deputies from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office responded to a minibike crash approximately 150 feet from U.S. Forest Service Road 8445 in Elk Township.

According to the investigation, a witness saw the minibike traveling west on an unnamed trail when it struck a tree stump. The operator, a 65-year-old man from Muskegon, was not wearing a helmet and was ejected from the minibike. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The crash remains under investigation.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by Lake County 911 Central Dispatch, Sauble-Elk-Eden Fire Department, Life EMS, U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement and the Mid-Michigan Medical Examiner Group.

_{Release information courtesy of Sheriff Rich Martin and the Lake County Sheriff's Office.}