McGEORGE

MARQUETTE — The body of Aaron McGeorge, who was reported missing on Tuesday, was located at 11:35 a.m. Thursday by a Blackhawk Medivac helicopter crew from the Wisconsin Air National Guard, the Marquette County Sheriff’s Office said.

The body of McGeorge, 40, of Marquette Township, was located on the east side of County Road 550 and north of Sugarloaf Mountain. This location was 200 yards northeast of where McGeorge’s truck was found.

Preliminary findings at the scene led investigators to believe the victim succumbed to injuries sustained in a fall from a rock bluff. The Marquette County Medical Examiner’s Office will investigate and determine the official cause and manner of death. No foul play is suspected and an autopsy was scheduled for today, police said.

Numerous factors made this search difficult, the MSCO said. The terrain is rugged and a heavily recreated area with no cell phone service. Also, McGeorge had no device that could be tracked, and didn’t tell anyone where he was going.

The sheriff’s office encourages the public to use the buddy system and to inform someone of their itinerary when traveling in the woods and on the water.

The search was aided by the Marquette County Sheriff’s Office, Marquette County Search and Rescue, the Alger County Sheriff’s Office K-9 unit, the Michigan State Police K-9 units, Air Force Rescue Coordination Center, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Wisconsin Air National Guard and Marquette Township EMS.