A 7-year-old girl was found alive and safe after a boating accident killed her grandfather, 53, and great-grandfather, 80. The child had been out fishing with her relatives on Sunday, August 18, 2024, when their boat capsized on an Illinois lake at LaSalle Lake State Fish and Wildlife area.
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources held a press conference on Monday, and stated that 911 received a call to the location, according to the Associated Press.
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Authorities said the child was wearing a life jacket while the two men were not. Their bodies were recovered around 7:45 p.m. on Sunday, and they were pronounced dead on the scene by the coroner, per the Associated Press.
The girl was found onshore by park visitors, who helped her contact her mom and grandmother. The grandfather was from Merrillville, Indiana, and the great-grandfather lived in Gary, Indiana.
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An investigation is underway to figure out how the boat capsized. According to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, LaSalle Lake is a manmade, 2,058-acre lake 8 miles southeast of Marseilles, and is formed by “levees that rise above the surrounding land.”
“While this perched construction helps the lake catch the wind to cool the impounded water, it can result in extremely hazardous conditions for unwary boaters,” the site notes.
