ELMWOOD, Ill. (WMBD) — It might never be known why a boat capsized over the weekend at a private fishing pond, resulting in the death of two Peoria men.
Peoria County Sheriff Chris Watkins said the investigation so far has turned up nothing indicating foul play or anything other than a tragic accident. It didn’t appear the men were wearing life-jackets, the county’s top lawman said.
Carter Lee and Michael J. Whitaker, both 67, died in the accident. Lee was found first and pronounced dead at 5 p.m. Saturday. Whitaker was found the following day by members of the Peoria Fire Department‘s dive team and pronounced dead at 11:12 a.m. Sunday
The Peoria County Coroner‘s office said both men drowned and determined the deaths to be accidental in nature. There were no wounds or injuries on either man, according to the coroner’s office.
Deputies were called to the lake, located in the 5300 block of North Eden Road, at about 3:15 p.m. Saturday after the property owner noticed a boat the men were using had capsized.
The owner called 911 at about 2:30 p.m. and members of the Logan-Trivoli Fire Department, along with deputies started searching the large lake and found a male unresponsive in the lake at approximately 3:45 p.m. CPR on the scene but the man, who was Carter Lee, was pronounced dead.
At first, deputies couldn’t find Whitaker who had been fishing with Lee on the lake. His family reported him missing later that day and on Sunday morning, the dive team found him.
In a social media post, Watkins noted the “very unfortunate tragedy that the families of these victims are processing.” He urged people to keep those families in their thoughts.