Two sailors in July’s Race to Mackinac Island died from head and face trauma and from drowning when their boat capsized, the sheriff for Michigan’s Charlevoix County said after his 11-week investigation.
Sheriff Don Schneider’s 11-week investigation into the death of Mark Morley, 51, and Susan Makowski-Bickel, 40, found both victims sustained “tremendous trauma” to their faces and heads when Morley’s 35-foot Wingnuts capsized July 18 in 70- to 80-knot winds.
“Whether they were unconscious or dazed to the point where they couldn’t help themselves, I’m sure there are a number of factors that contributed to their deaths,” Schneider said.
