Searchers recover bodies of men missing at Lake Monroe
Read the latest: Friends, relatives watch as bodies of Indiana University students pulled from Lake Monroe
Tuesday noon:
The bodies of two men missing at Lake Monroe since Saturday were recovered late Tuesday morning.
Around 11:20 a.m. Indiana Conservation Officers located and recovered the bodies of Siddhant Shah and Aryan Vaidya in 18 feet of water in an area east of the Paynetown Marina.
Tuesday morning:
Divers returned to Lake Monroe Tuesday morning to continue searching for two IU students missing in the water since Saturday afternoon.
Indiana Department of Natural Resources spokeswoman Lt. Angela Goldman said weather conditions have improved. Brisk winds that hampered the search and the use of sonar devices subsided as the search resumed Tuesday.
Monday morning:
DNR spokeswoman Lt. Angela Goldman said the search for the two IU students who went missing Saturday afternoon while swimming at Lake Monroe is being hampered by 20-mph winds creating whitecap waves.
The churning water is thwarting their use of sonar to locate 19-year-old Siddhant Shah and 20-year-old Aryan Vaidya.
Goldman said one of the men had been struggling in the water when others jumped in to help.
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The pontoon boat the students were on was anchored not far from the Paynetown beach, Goldman said, between there and the Ind. 446 causeway. Four 21-foot DNR patrol boats with divers were at the scene Monday.
Divers searched until 10 p.m. Saturday night and all day Sunday under similar windy conditions, Goldman said. The lake was busy with boaters on Saturday, which was sunny and warm.
But Sunday and Monday, cold rain and wind changed the nature of the lake, which was mostly deserted.
"With 15-to-20-mph sustained winds, we're struggling with that," she said from the lake Monday morning. "A lot of the technology we use that makes things more precise need better conditions. When dealing with whitecaps and wind, our sonar is not as effective."
Sunday morning
Rescue personnel are resuming a search of Lake Monroe Sunday after two Indiana University students failed to surface while swimming Saturday.
The Indiana Department of Natural Resources reported in a press release that Shah and Vaidya were boating on a pontoon at Lake Monroe when their group anchored to swim. Both men did not resurface and friends attempted to help them but were unsuccessful.
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Rescue units used side scan sonar and scuba divers to search the area Saturday but had to suspend the search when darkness fell.
IU student services transported the rest of the group back to campus and are providing counseling services.
Indiana Conservation Officers are being assisted by Monroe County Sheriff's Office, Bloomington police, IU police, the Monroe County dive team, IU, Monroe Fire Protection District and IU Health EMS.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Two Indiana University students missing at Lake Monroe
