PERRY TWP., Ohio — Law enforcement, along with family and friends, continued their search Monday for a fisherman who went missing after his boat capsized in Lake Erie over the weekend.
The man’s family members were among 14 rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard in the lake in Northeast Ohio on Saturday.
“It’s a very beautiful thing we have here. But it can be very treacherous too,” said Chris Botts.
The Geauga County man had shuttled a large group of volunteers from the Montville area to the lakefront in Perry Township Monday to search for their missing friend.
“It’s really a horrible feeling. It’s very, very helpless,” Botts said.
He explained a family the group knows was fishing in the lake near the Perry Nuclear Power Plant Saturday when their boat capsized.
According to the U.S. Coast Guard, someone in the boat issued a distress call around 10:30 a.m. Saturday. A helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Detroit and a boat crew from Station Cleveland Harbor were launched to search.
The helicopter team found and rescued one person from the water. An ODNR boat rescued another person. A third person was unresponsive when pulled from the lake by a Coast Guard boat, and the man later died.
Investigators confirm a man and woman survived the ordeal, their adult nephew died, and his brother is missing. They believe they were all wearing life vests.
“It’s just one of those you don’t understand. I know they’re in a better place now. They were great people, a great family,” Botts said.
The family was one of several water rescues from Lake Erie in Northeast Ohio over the weekend.
“The majority of cases had good outcomes and some unfortunately didn’t. Our thoughts are definitely with the families and friends in the cases that didn’t turn out as we expected,” said Petty Officer First Class Christopher Yaw, a public affairs officer for the U.S. Coast Guard 9th District.
The same Detroit-based helicopter crew from the Perry situation also responded to a distress call from the water near Ashtabula. 5 people were rescued after clinging to a cooler when their boat capsized.
Separately, the Coast Guard, with help from Conneaut Fire, Lake City Fire Company, Girard FD and West County Paramedics, rescued 3 from a vessel in distress near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border in Conneaut.
RELATED: Sheffield Lake firefighters rescue 2 people after boat overturns
The same day in Sheffield Lake, Sheffield Lake Police and Fire, Avon Lake Fire, Lorain Police, ODNR and the USCG rescued 2 people a half mile off-shore from their sinking boat.
“There’s no real rhyme or reason, per se, as to why these things happen. Sometimes it’s just a bad day on the lake,” said ODNR Lt. Chad Kozan. “Lake Erie is a shallow lake and it does kind of pick up quickly. It’s kind of got a history of that.”
ODNR has taken over the investigation and recovery of the missing fisherman near Perry Township. As summer boating season ramps up, Kozan urges boaters to know the lake conditions and keep proper safety equipment on board.
“We recommend everyone wear their life jackets, have the proper safety gear, carry a marine radio, carry a cell phone. Have two extra ways to get a hold of somebody,” he said.
Botts estimated around 100 people from his community were assisting law enforcement in the search for the missing fisherman. Many were combing the lakefront, while others were searching in their personal boats. He said they were all supporting the family.
“It’s heartbreaking, it really is. My heart goes out to the family. I know them personally and I’m doing everything I can to help,” he said.
RELATED: 3 pulled from water, 1 person unaccounted for following Lake Erie mayday call
