MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. (June 1, 2014) – The Coast Guard said they suspended search efforts for the missing boater off-shore from Michigan City as of 9:15 A.M. Sunday. Due to the lower probability of the boater’s survival and the need to give crews a rest, the Coast Guard said they indefinitely suspended this search.
Also according to authorities, the Coast Guard is involved in a separate search for two missing boaters Sunday. Officials said a boat with four people capsized near Chicago, leaving one person dead, one person in critical condition, and two people missing as of Sunday afternoon.
As FOX 17 News has been reporting regarding the Michigan City rescue effort, the Coast Guard and two Good Samaritan boaters rescued five boaters in southern Lake Michigan Saturday evening, but one person is still missing.
According to the Ninth Coast Guard District, a group of six boaters were a mile and a half off-shore from the Michigan City Lighthouse, when they jumped off their boat to cool off Saturday. Officials said they were not wearing life jackets, and they were unable to swim back to their boat as it drifted away.
The 911 call came into La Porte, Indiana at 6:30 P.M. Saturday. A rescue crew aboard a 45-foot response boat from the Coast Guard Station Michigan City pulled three of the adults from the water, and nearby Good Samaritan boaters pulled two more people out of the water, officials said.
Coast Guard rescue crews aboard 25-foot and 45-foot response boats from Station Michigan City, along with a Dolphin helicopter from Air Facility Muskegon and local responders are still searching for the sixth person, officials said.
At the time of rescue, the Coast Guard said the water temperature in southern Lake Michigan was 45 degrees. At that temperature, officials said it takes an average submerged person 30 minutes to become hypothermic.
The Coast Guard is not releasing any of the names of the rescued boaters or missing person at this time.
FOX 17 News will provide further updates as they are released.
