Traverse City ROV helps Marquette police locate missing NMU student

A Traverse City-area robotics company helped bring a two-month search for Northern Michigan University student Trenton Massey to a close Friday, when a sonar-equipped underwater ROV led searchers to his body in Marquette’s Lower Harbor north of Shiras Dock.

Massey was 21. Marquette police said he was last seen in the early morning hours of Feb. 22, 2026, appearing disoriented and having trouble walking before he disappeared from camera view near Founder’s Landing. Police later said he was seen heading toward the Founder’s Landing Boardwalk and then stepping onto the ice from the north Founder’s Landing Pier shortly after 3:30 a.m. His cell phone was turned in to police around 8 a.m. that morning after being found on a multi-use path in Marquette.

The body was found about 3:30 p.m. Friday, April 24, submerged in the water of the Lower Harbor north of the Shiras Dock. Volunteers from Hybrid Robotics, an underwater ROV manufacturer based in Traverse City, used sonar mounted on the vehicle to help the dive team locate and recover Massey. Divers from the Marquette County Sheriff’s Office brought the body to shore and transferred it to UP Health System-Marquette for an autopsy.

Hybrid Robotics CEO and co-founder Ryan Mater said it was the first time the company had gone out on a service call firsthand. He said poor weather and the size of the search area made the sonar-equipped ROV especially useful, along with access to boats and other resources. In a region where winter conditions can rapidly complicate water rescues, the recovery showed how a compact piece of technology from Grand Traverse County can give local law enforcement and search crews another tool when time, ice and visibility are working against them.

The search drew numerous agencies and countless volunteers over more than two months. Specialized equipment was used on land, in the water and from the air, including a helicopter, airboat, underwater remote-operated vehicle, sonar units, scuba divers, drones, K9s and a hovercraft.

Massey’s family held a memorial Monday, April 20, and Northern Michigan University later held a memorial service and lowered the Wildcat flag to half-mast. Authorities said the investigation into his death remains ongoing.