Prairie State Wire

The Illinois Conservation Police are investigating a boating accident at the LaSalle Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area that resulted in the deaths of two Indiana men who had been fishing with their 7-year-old granddaughter.

Just after noon on Sunday, Aug. 18, police received a 911 call about a distressed boater at the 2,000-acre lake near Marseilles. Upon arrival, they observed a capsized vessel and found the girl on the shore with park visitors who had come to her assistance. The visitors helped her contact her mother and grandmother.

The girl had been on the 17-foot Crestliner with her grandfather, 53, from Merrillville, Indiana, and her great-grandfather, 80, of Gary, Indiana. She was wearing a life jacket; the two men were not, police said.

Police and first responders from numerous agencies assisted in searching for the men. They were recovered around 7:45 p.m., and the LaSalle County coroner pronounced them dead at the scene.

An investigation into what caused the vessel to capsize is ongoing.