HOUGHTON – A local family’s search for a loved one ended Saturday when the body of 61-year-old Keith Karvonen was recovered from Keweenaw Bay.

Karvonen, and his friend, 41-year-old Steven Chartre of Ishpeming, both of whom worked for Checker Cab, and Chartre’s 9-year-old son, Ethan, did not return from a fishing trip on Sept. 17, leading to an around-the-clock, four-day search that yielded nothing.

Karvonen’s 14-foot boat was located at about 12:45 p.m. Saturday, where the bodies were also located, about three-tenths of a mile from the location of one of two cell phone pings detected after the disappearance.

When the official search ended, Karvonen’s family hired Tom Crossman, of Duluth’s Crossman Consulting, who along with a volunteer search company, used sonar to detect Karvonen’s 14-foot boat nearby the trio’s watery grave.

“He died doing what he loved,” said Emily Dorvinen, who found some peace of mind after her father’s body was recovered. “I’m OK right now. I’m trying to keep busy.

“It’s sad, but it’s comforting to have some answers,” she added.

Crossman was joined Thursday by Bruce’s Legacy, a volunteer organization from Black River Falls, Wisconsin, that provides emergency assistance, education, public safety awareness and search and recovery operations using sonar to locate drowned victims and give families some closure.

Searchers located a boat in 280 feet of water, according to a report on Bruce’s Legacy’s website.

Neither the website nor police gave a specific location of the recovery site as of Monday morning.

The searchers identified boat of Karvonen’s and found that the three missing fishermen were in close proximity according to the website. Bruce’s Legacy then notified local authorities, who passed on approval for Crossman to recover the fisherman using a remotely operated vehicle.

Searchers were able to bring two of the three individuals up to the surface and on the boat. The third will require additional assistance because of entanglement issues.

The site said the Michigan State Police will use a larger equipment to bring the remaining fisherman home.