73-year-old found dead after boat capsizes off Indiana coast of Lake Michigan
EAST CHICAGO, Ind. (WISH) — A 73-year-old man was found dead after a boat capsized Friday afternoon on Lake Michigan near East Chicago’s steel mill during a gale warning, the Lake County sheriff said.
Thomas Barragan, of Oak Forest, Illinois, died, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources said.
Barragan and Steve Vandervelde, also of Oak Forest, were fishing when the boat capsized about 1:30 p.m. CT Friday, according to a news release from Natural Resources and an alert on the Lake County Sheriff’s Department app.
The Lake County Aviation Unit found Barragan’s body, which a Natural Resources conservation recovered from the water at 3:20 p.m. CT Friday.
Barragan managed to reach the shore with the help of a good Samaritan and was taken to a hospital.
Sheriff Oscar Martinez Jr. and the Natural Resources release noted that strong winds and high waves meant hazardous conditions for boaters on the lake. The water temperature was 37 degrees.
A gale warning was in effect until 9 p.m. CT Friday, and a small-craft advisory had been issued through 3 p.m. CT Saturday, according to the National Weather Service office at Chicago.
