Man, 20, missing after boat capsizes in Lake Michigan near East Chicago Marina
Kelvin Soto Crespo of Yabucoa, Puerto Rico has been missing since Saturday afternoon
EAST CHICAGO, Ind. (WLS) -- Indiana officials continued a search Sunday for a missing 20-year-old Puerto Rican man, after the boat he had been on capsized in Lake Michigan.
Kelvin Soto Crespo of Yabucoa, Puerto Rico has been missing since Saturday afternoon. He had been in a boat that capsized near the East Chicago Marina.
Indiana Conservation Officers and the Lake County Sheriff's Office Aviation and Marine Units resumed the search Sunday morning, after it was suspended the night before.
Four men ranging from 19 to 50 were on the 18-foot Bayliner runabout pleasure boat when it capsized around 2:15 p.m. Saturday near the East Chicago Marina, according to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources
"It was a smaller boat, and I guess it started taking on water, and there was more water coming in than their pump could pump out, and it ended up capsizing," said Karl Samuel, East Chicago Marina harbormaster.
With the help of a Chicago Fire Department helicopter, two of the men wearing life jackets were spotted in the water and rescued..
A third man was also later rescued after spending at least two hours in 50-degree waters.
"I saw them pull a kid onto a stretcher and into the ambulance. He looked like he was done, like out of it. I don't know if he was conscious or not. They had a blanket over him," said Ron Starr.
"They said that he was holding on to the seat cushion, and that's what he held on, and that's when they found him. He had been holding on to the seat cushion, so the seat cushion helped him," said Samuel.
Two people were being treated for hypothermia and a third was in critical condition, the Coast Guard said Saturday.
The search continued for several hours Sunday before wind and wave action forced a second suspension. Weather permitting, Indiana Conservation Officers and the Lake County Marine Unit will resume the search Monday morning.
The boat involved also has not been found, officials said. It was last seen capsized several miles offshore Saturday afternoon.
Anyone who spots the boat or any items that may be associated with the incident is asked to contact the Indiana Conservation Officers Central Dispatch Center at 812-837-9536.
