Authorities have halted the search for a missing boater in Lake Erie following the rescue of two individuals and the recovery of another person from the water who tragically passed away. The U.S. Coast Guard Great Lakes station received a distress call just after 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, prompting a search near a Painesville communications tower. A Coast Guard helicopter from Detroit and a boat from the Cleveland harbor were dispatched to the area, but the helicopter was redirected an hour later for a separate rescue in the lake off Ashtabula.
Around 2 p.m. on Saturday, a local fire rescue boat discovered coolers and debris floating near the Perry nuclear power plant in the water, leading to the finding of a capsized 23-foot vessel by divers from the Lake County dive team. Following a refuel, the Detroit crew rejoined the search and rescued a person from the water, while the fire department boat crew also saved another individual. The rescued pair, a man and a woman, were found wearing life jackets. The Cleveland harbor crew pulled out another man, unfortunately, he was unresponsive and later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
After the three rescues, it was discovered that a third individual was still missing in the water, with uncertainties about whether they had a life jacket on. Despite continued efforts from another helicopter and boat crew, the search was called off on Saturday night after running for 10 hours. The Detroit helicopter crew that was diverted earlier managed to rescue five people from Lake Erie waters, where they were clinging to a cooler about 10 miles off Ashtabula after their 22-foot boat was swamped by a wave. The individuals were safely transported to the northeast Ohio regional airport, with no reported medical issues.