2 rescued, 1 dead, 1 missing after boat capsizes on Lake Erie

CLEVELAND – Authorities have called off the search for a missing boater in Lake Erie after rescuing two others and pulling another person from the water who later died.

The U.S. Coast Guard Great Lakes said a distress call came in just after 10:30 a.m. Saturday that authorities said led to an area in front of a communications tower in Painesville. A helicopter was launched from the Coast Guard Air Force Base in Detroit and a boat crew from the Port of Cleveland began searching, but an hour later the helicopter was diverted to another rescue operation in the lake off Ashtabula.

Just before 2 p.m. Saturday, a local fireboat crew reported finding coolers and other debris floating in the water off the Perry Nuclear Power Plant. Divers from the Lake County Dive Team also found a capsized and partially submerged 23-foot vessel.

The Detroit crew resumed the search after refueling and rescued one person from the water, while the fire department boat crew rescued another person. The two, a man and a woman, were wearing life jackets. The Cleveland harbor crew rescued another man, who was unresponsive and later pronounced dead at a local hospital.

After the three rescues, officials learned that a third man was in the water. Officials said it was not immediately clear whether that person was wearing a life jacket. Another helicopter and a boat crew continued to search, but the operation was called off Saturday evening after 10 hours, officials said.

The previously diverted Detroit helicopter crew had rescued five people clinging to a cooler in Lake Erie about 10 miles (16 kilometers) off Ashtabula after their 22-foot boat was swamped by a wave, officials said. The five were taken to the northeast Ohio regional airport, and officials said none of them had any health issues.

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