Grand Rapids Man Succumbs in Boating Incident on Private NE Ottawa Co. Lake

WRIGHT TWP., MI (WHTC) – The identity of a 66-year-old Grand Rapids man is now publicly known, but how exactly he died on Thursday morning in a private lake off of Roosevelt Street near 16^th Avenue, between Coopersville and Sparta, remains unknown. Deputies say that Richard Buikema succumbed as he and a fishing friend were swimming to shore after their aluminum boat capsized when Buikema stood up in it. An autopsy is being performed to help determine the cause of his death. An investigation continues.