Name: Ferris J. “Pete” Rennie is reported missing in Grand Traverse Bay, 1965
Start: 1965-04-10
End: 1965-04-10
Location: Grand Traverse Bay

Locator map: Grand Traverse Bay highlighted within the Beaver Island archipelago — Took place at Grand Traverse BayLocator plate © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0); depths NOAA; names USGS GNIS. How the plates are drawn.

Event

Date: 1965-04-10
Kind: Disaster
Where: Grand Traverse Bay
Eras: Modern era
Concepts: maritimedisastercommunitytourism
Within: Beaver Island

Summary

The May 1965 Beaver Beacon reported Ferris J. “Pete” Rennie missing in Grand Traverse Bay after motor trouble stopped his amphibious air sled on an April 10 trip toward the family-owned Marion Island. The paper said the sled, life jackets, and hat were recovered.

Evidence and limits

The notice establishes a reported disappearance, not a confirmed death or a complete search and recovery record. It also describes Rennie’s Beaver Island property, charitable support for the island, and yacht visits, but does not provide deeds, donation records, a vessel log, or an official incident file.

Sources

Beaver Beacon, May 1965, “Frequent Island Visitor Missing in Lake.”
Reports that Ferris J. “Pete” Rennie of Traverse City, a Beaver Island property owner, was lost in Grand Traverse Bay on April 10 after motor trouble forced him to abandon an amphibious air sled and attempt to cross soft ice. The sled, life jackets, and hat had been recovered, but the notice does not establish a death, recovery, official search, or complete incident record.
data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1965-05_Beaver-Beacon
Beaver Beacon, May 1965, held issue PDF, source scan.
The held eight-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.
data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1965-05_Beaver-Beacon

Added 2 August 2026 · revised 3 August 2026. Recent changes

Cite this article

Beaver Island Archive, “Ferris J. “Pete” Rennie is reported missing in Grand Traverse Bay, 1965”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/events/ferris-j-pete-rennie-missing-grand-traverse-bay-1965/, accessed [date], citing Beaver Beacon, May 1965, “Frequent Island Visitor Missing in Lake.” (and 1 further source listed on the page).

Last revised 2026-08-03. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.

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