Boater's family holds vigil as he and second man remain missing in Lake Michigan off Indiana shore
WHITING, Ind. (CBS) -- It had been three days Monday since three boaters went into the water in Northwest Indiana.
They were spending a day on Lake Michigan when conditions took a turn this past Friday afternoon. One man was rescued, but two were still missing as of Monday night.
Rescue crews and family members have been focusing their search in the Whiting and Hammond areas. Meanwhile, the missing men's loved ones continue to keep vigil.
"I had a feeling something was going to happen," said Teresa Zayas, "because as a mom, I could not sleep."
One might call it a mother's intuition. On Friday, July 5, Teresa Zayas was at her home in Boston, Massachusetts—while her son, Eduardo Rivera, was on a boat on Lake Michigan.
"I said, 'Something is wrong,'" Zayas said. "I said: 'Please, you're scaring me. "Call me. text me.'"
But Rivera never did.
"This is like a nightmare," Zayas said. "You want to wake up and say, 'No, it's OK.'"
Officials said Rivera was on a boat with 11 other people on board, when one person jumped out to swim and began to struggle. Rivera, wanting to help, followed.
Neither one was wearing a life jacket.
"Both of those individuals then began to struggle on the water. A third individual put on a life jacket and jumped in the water, again, to attempt to help," Indiana Conservation Officer Alex Neel said Friday. "Because of the wind and the waves, all three individuals and the boat got separated."
The last person to jump into the water was found safely. But despite searches on the water and in the air, Rivera and the other man were still missing late Monday.
"We utilized three different helicopters from different agencies to conduct searches above the water," said Neel, "and our boats were running sonar, different things to try to locate them."
Rivera was a truck driver who loved being out on the water. His whole family traveled to Northwest Indiana from Boston to join in the search.
Rivera's sister, Ana Zaldana, was trying to hold onto hope Monday night.
"I feel like he's still out there," Zaldana said. "They've just got to find him.
Zayas said her son was a good swimmer.
"Maybe he's waiting, laying down someplace—maybe hurt," Zayas said.
For now, Rivera's family waits in Whiting, Indiana, where he was last seen.
"The only choice is wait until the body goes up to the shore or to the side. The only reason I came here is to get the body of my son. That's it," Zayas said. "He deserves to be home."
Late Monday, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources said it had no new updates.
