LANSING (WKZO) — Michigan State officials said they may plan a dive into Lake Michigan to verify whether a shipwreck stumbled upon by two divers could be the Griffin, which sank in 1679.
Kevin Dykstra and Frederick Monroe said they found the wreck of what the believe is René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle’s ship while diving in 2011 but are only going public with it now because they wanted to wait until they had expert opinions showing it is, in fact, the Griffin.
It was the ship LaSalle used to explore the Great Lakes as he looked for a Northwest passage to India.
Prior to his boat, only canoes had been seen on most of the Great Lakes.
“La Griffon”, as the French called it, had to be built above Niagara Falls, just to get into the big lakes.
State archaeologist Dean Anderson said he may want to investigate further by sending a maritime archaeologist down to the site.
The divers have kept its location a secret as they try to get the verification and secure the site.
Some call it the “Holy Grail” of Great Lakes shipwreck explorers, and it would be a major find.
