N.Y. Man Missing After Raft Overturns On Lake Michigan
UPDATED 06/19/12 8:09 a.m.
BEVERLY SHORES, Ind. (CBS) -- The U.S. Coast Guard is searching Lake Michigan off Beverly Shores, Ind., for the body of a New York man who got into trouble in rough water Monday afternoon.
As WBBM Newsradio's Mike Krauser reports, the lake was rough just offshore, with strong, gusty winds going out. Leonel Dominguez, 31, of the Bronx, and his female companion, Evelyn Hernandez, were on an inflatable raft off the beach in Beverly Shores.
LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio's Mike Krauser reports
Podcast
Conservation officer Gene Davis says Dominguez was in the water swimming and pulling the raft.
"When he attempted to climb back in the raft, it caused the raft to come up on one side. When the raft came up, the wind caught the raft and flipped it over, throwing both people into the water," Davis said.
Domiguez and Hernandez were both struggling, and the raft was being blown away.
A construction worker at a nearby house witnessed the scene and called 911 around 3 p.m.
Nick Dominguez, a Marine from suburban Lockport, Ill., who is not related to Leonel Domiguez, jumped in the water and saved Hernandez after hearing her screams.
"I'm glad I was there, at least to save the woman," Nick Dominguez told CBS 2.
But Leonel Dominguez disappeared and has not been located.
