Searchers recover bodies of two Indiana University students who went missing at lake

The Herald-Times
Updated ·2 min read
Indiana Conservation Officers search for 19-year-old Siddhant Shah and 20-year-old Aryan Vaidya, two Indiana University students who went missing Saturday, April 15, 2023 in Lake Monroe. Their bodies were found Tuesday, April 18.
Indiana Conservation Officers search for 19-year-old Siddhant Shah and 20-year-old Aryan Vaidya, two Indiana University students who went missing Saturday, April 15, 2023 in Lake Monroe. Their bodies were found Tuesday, April 18.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The bodies of two Indiana University students missing at Lake Monroe since Saturday were recovered late Tuesday morning.

Indiana Conservation Officers located and recovered the bodies of Siddhant Shah, 19, and Aryan Vaidya, 20, around 11:20 a.m. local time in 18 feet of water in an area east of the Paynetown Marina, located roughly 10 miles southeast of the university's campus in Bloomington.

Divers had returned to Lake Monroe Tuesday after officials said the search was hampered by 20-mph winds Monday morning.

The two Indiana University students were missing in the water since Saturday afternoon.

How the students went missing

Shah and Vaidya were boating on a pontoon Saturday when their group anchored to swim. Both men did not resurface and friends attempted to help them but were unsuccessful, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources reported.

One of the men had been struggling in the water when others jumped in to help, said Lt. Angela Goldman, a Department of Natural Resources representative.

Divers searched until 10 p.m. Saturday, using sonar and scuba divers, and all day Sunday under 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," Goldmsaid 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."

IU student services transported the rest of the group back to campus and were providing counseling services.

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This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Search finds bodies of Indiana students Siddhant Shah, Aryan Vaidya