Thomas Leo O’Connor, known as Tom, was 33 when he vanished from a sailboat on Lake Huron on July 12, 1996. He was a passenger on a 1990 Pursuit sailboat (registration MC7699NS) making a northbound trip from New Baltimore toward Alpena when the vessel encountered rough water about 11 miles north of Port Austin. At approximately 3:10 p.m. he was apparently no longer aboard and investigators believe he fell overboard during the turbulent conditions.

Tom was described as a white man, 5 feet 7 inches tall, 140–150 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes. He was last seen wearing a blue-and-white shirt, blue shorts and tennis shoes. The precise moment he entered the water is unclear; reports do not say whether anyone witnessed a fall, how long passed before his absence was noticed, or what immediate actions were taken. The Coast Guard was notified and the Huron County Sheriff’s Office opened a case; despite searches no confirmed trace of him has been recovered. A DNA reference from his daughter was entered into CODIS to assist future comparisons.

Did anyone on the water that day or anyone who sailed north of Port Austin in July 1996 see or hear anything that could help clarify what happened to Tom?