Search For Missing Boater's Body Postponed Due To Inclement Weather
CHICAGO (CBS)--Recovery efforts were underway in the Chicago River Wednesday for 28-year-old Albert Lopez, the man fire department diver Juan Bucio tried to rescue before he died Monday.
Search teams say they had to postpone their efforts late Wednesday afternoon due to inclement weather.
Illinois Conservation Police and CPD boats combed the stretch of the river near the 2600 block of South Ashland where Lopez fell in.
Lopez's friend, Ramiro Ponce, waited on the shoreline just north of Bridgeport while diving crews searched for the body.
Ponce, 25, and Lopez were on the boat together with another friend shortly before 8 p.m. Monday when a larger boat passed by, rocking strong waves into their small 16-foot vessel. Lopez lost his balance and fell into the water.
Rescuers arrived to search for Lopez, and Bucio, 46, and his dive partner descended into the murky water.
While swimming near a Fire Department boat, Bucio's head went under the surface and he didn't reappear. Crews located Bucio several minutes later, and pulled him out of the river, but he later was pronounced dead at Stroger Hospital. Lopez still had not been found, as of Wednesday afternoon.
Visitation for Bucio has been scheduled for Sunday, from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the chapel at St. Rita High School, according to the Fire Department.
Bucio's funeral will be at noon Monday at St. Rita, followed by burial at Mt. Auburn Cemetery in west suburban Stickney.
A lifelong friend of Lopez, Ponce said they grew up together in Mexico. Lopez came to the U.S. about less than a year ago to provide a better life for his girlfriend and three children back in Mexico.
"They are sad," Ponce said in spanish. "They don't know what to do either because they are there, wishing they could be here to see what they can do."
A 15-year veteran of the Fire Department, Bucio had been a diver since 2007. He leaves behind two sons, ages 9 and 10. He also has nine siblings, including a brother who works for the Fire Department and a sister who works for the Police Department.
Many of Bucio's colleagues described him as one of the best.
"I trusted him with my life as a partner," said fellow Fire Department diver Brian Coffman. "He was great in the water. He was one of the best we had."
Coffman said he is numb and grieving Bucio's death. Many others who knew him and worked alongside him are doing the same.
"Nobody expects to go to work and not come home, not even Juan. When Juan jumped out of the helicopter on that dive mission, Juan didn't expect what happened to him," said Fire Department Lt. Chris Meziere.
