In 1924 a fishing net trawled up a wallet belonging to Captain Schuenemann. The wallet, well preserved because it was wrapped in oilskin, contained business cards, a newspaper clipping and an expense memorandum. In 1971 the wreck itself was discovered by scuba diver Gordon Kent Bellrichard from Milwaukee. Bellrichard was searching for the "Vernon", a 177-foot, 700-ton steamer that had sunk in a storm in October 1887, and had been told about an area in which local fishermen had frequently snagged their nets. When his sonar appeared to have located something he dived down to a shipwreck on the bed of the lake 172 feet below. Despite his light failing, Bellrichard managed to survey the wreckage with his hands and concluded that he had instead found the "Simmons".