ELM RIVER TOWNSHIP — Houghton County on Saturday had one of Michigan’s first snowmobile deaths this winter when an Illinois man was killed in a crash on an Elm River Township trail.

Houghton County Sheriff’s Office deputies were dispatched at 7:40 p.m. Eastern time Saturday to the Bill Nichols Trail No. 3, across M-26 from Penegor Road, after Central Dispatch in Negaunee received an iPhone crash alert, the sheriff’s office stated. Repeated calls to the cell phone received no response, according to Sheriff Joshua Saaranen.

Deputies found a deceased 44-year-old male from Illinois when they reached the trail.

Michigan State Police assisted as accident investigators, but it was too early in the investigation to say what caused the crash, Saaranen said.

According to Apple Support, iPhone Crash Detection is a safety feature on iPhone 14 and later that uses sensors to detect severe crashes and automatically calls emergency services and notifies emergency contacts if the user doesn’t respond.

The sheriff’s office was assisted by Elm River First Responders, Michigan State Police Calumet Post, Mercy Ambulance and Houghton County Medical Examiners Office.

The Houghton County fatality is believed to be one of three snowmobile deaths in Michigan on Saturday. Daniel Meyers, 65, and Jason Aemmer, 49, both from Grand Haven, died after their snowmobiles went through the ice on Round Lake in Mason County.

The 2024-25 snowmobile season saw 16 fatalities in Michigan, nine in the Upper Peninsula, including one in Houghton County.