Missing boaters found dead in NW Indiana, coroner identifies victims

WHITING, Ind. - Two boaters who were reported missing in Lake Michigan in Northwest Indiana have been found dead.

"Our hearts go out to all of the friends and family members affected by this case," Lake County Sheriff Oscar Martinez Jr. said in a statement. 

At around 12:30 p.m, Friday, a fisherman called 911 after finding one of the boaters deceased, just north of a BP breakwall, according to the Lake County Sheriff's Office. 

The body was found just under a mile away from the shore, officials said. The other boater was found east of the BP breakwall around 2:30 p.m., according to the sheriff's office. 

On Saturday, the Lake County Coroner's Office identified the two deceased as 45-year-old Eduardo Rivera Jr. and 32-year-old Salvador Mercado Lopez. Both lived in Elk Grove Village. 

The preliminary cause of death is drowning, pending toxicology reports.

Officials were notified just before 3 p.m. Friday, July 5, of a boat in distress off the shore near Whiting, located nearly one nautical mile offshore from the Hammond Marina. 

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Initially, there were eight people on board the 23-foot-long boat and three were in the water, the Coast Guard said.

When crews arrived, five people were on the boat and three men went into the water.

One of the boaters was rescued. He was wearing a life jacket and was taken to an area hospital for hypothermia but was later released, according to the Indiana DNR. 

The other two boaters who were deemed missing were not wearing life jackets. Officials said they went under the water and didn't resurface. 

Search efforts extended into Saturday, July 6, with no success in locating the missing boaters. On Sunday, the search was deemed a recovery mission. 

We'll bring more updates to this story as they become available.