While fishing, a father and his daughter made an amazing discovery. They came across the wreckage of a ship that disappeared 150 years ago in the deadliest fire in U.S. history.
They had not expected such a discovery. While fishing on Lake Michigan in the United States this summer, a father and his 6-year-old daughter discovered the wreckage of a ship that disappeared more than 150 years ago, BFMTV and ABC report.
Tim Wollack and his daughter Henley saw their boat's sonar sending a signal. The father and his daughter then believe they are encountering a large octopus, but make a much more impressive discovery.
A sailboat missing since 1871
Tim Wollack posted photos of the wreckage on social media. And it was the Wisconsin Historical Society's Maritime Preservation and Archeology Program that finally solved the mystery in a press release issued on Monday, December 11th. According to her, it is the three-masted sailing ship George L. Newman, which disappeared in 1871.
“The wreck is that of a three-masted wooden sailing ship. “Although the identity of the wreck has not yet been confirmed, the location and currently available data are consistent with that of the three-masted George L. Newman,” reads the press release.
The ship ran aground on October 8, 1871 while sailing through heavy smoke from the Great Peshtigo Fire, the deadliest fire in United States history.
This massive wildfire burned nearly 500,000 acres and caused the deaths of at least 1,500 people.