Name: Coast Guard helicopter rescues the crew and dog of Little Blue near Beaver Island, May 4, 2005
Start: 2005-05-05
End: 2005-05-05
Location: Beaver Island

Event

Date: 2005-05-05
Kind: Rescue
Eras: Modern era
Concepts: emergency-managementtransportationmaritimeweatherpublic-servicecommunication
Within: Beaver Island

Summary

After Little Blue sent a distress call late on May 4, 2005, a Coast Guard helicopter found the 26-foot vessel about 500 yards off Beaver Island’s southeast shore in two to three feet of water. A rescue swimmer hoisted Robert Starbuck, Troy People, and their nine-month-old yellow lab to the helicopter and transported them to Charlevoix, where they were treated for possible hypothermia.

Evidence limits

The newspaper account does not provide a vessel position more precise than its approximate distance and direction from shore.

Sources

Beaver Beacon, June 2005, "Coast Guard Night Rescue 500 yards from Beaver Island."
Reports a late-evening May 4 distress call, the helicopter recovery of Robert Starbuck, Troy People, and a nine-month-old yellow lab from shallow water southeast of Beaver Island, and treatment for possible hypothermia. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.
data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 2005-06_Beaver-Beacon
Beaver Beacon, June 2005, held issue PDF, source scan.
The held issue scan confirms the rescue report.
data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 2005-06_Beaver-Beacon

Added 5 August 2026. Recent changes

Cite this article

Beaver Island Archive, “Coast Guard helicopter rescues the crew and dog of Little Blue near Beaver Island, May 4, 2005”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/events/beaver-island-little-blue-coast-guard-rescue-may-4-2005/, accessed [date], citing Beaver Beacon, June 2005, "Coast Guard Night Rescue 500 yards from Beaver Island." (and 1 further source listed on the page).

Last revised 2026-08-05. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.

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