Wisconsin family killed in Lake Superior kayak accident identified

Cari Mews of Loyal was the sole survivor of a kayak accident when her family’s boat capsized in Lake Superior, killing her husband and their three children.

Mews told police she became separated from her husband, Erik Fryman, and their children Thursday when trying to swim to Michigan Island, according to a news release from the Ashland County Sheriff ’s Office.

At 8:29 p.m., the Ashland County Communications Center received a call from Mews’ sister, Bobi Jo, saying Cari sent an alarming text message saying “911 Michigan Island.”

Bobi Jo Mews was interviewed by WCCO-TV, a CBS affiliate in Minnesota. She said this was the family’s “last big hurrah before school started.”

The weather started to change while the family was on the water, according to the CBS report. The waves were 3 to 4 feet high when the boat capsized.

Police determined the family, vacationing on Madeline Island, left Michigan Island to tour the Apostle Islands on kayak. Cari Mews was found on the west side of Michigan Island about 10 p.m., the release said.

The bodies of Fryman and two of the children were found just after midnight. Strong thunderstorms hampered search efforts, according to the release, and the body of the third child was found about 10 a.m. Friday on the Michigan Island shore. All of the family members were wearing life jackets, the news release said.

The Fryman children, Annaliese, Kyra and Jansen, were 9, 5 and 3 years old, respectively. Autopsies are being conducted and the incident is under investigation, the release said.