Published: May 10, 2008 09:51 am         

Man dies after falling into river

FIFE LAKE A Kalkaska County man apparently fell down an embankment near his home and drowned in the Manistee River, local authorities said.

Robert Norris Maust, 63, drowned after he is suspected to have tumbled down a steep riverbank at about 10 p.m. Thursday, state police trooper Robert Hall said.

Maust and his wife lived along the river on Coster Road in Kalkaska County's Springfield Township. Maust went to tend birdfeeders after watching a movie with his wife. She contacted authorities after he didn't return and she couldn't locate him.

Rescue divers eventually located Maust's body, and resuscitation efforts weren't successful.