Two Dead, Two Missing After Boat Hits Reef In Lake Erie

Two women are dead and two men missing after their boat apparently struck a submerged reef in Lake Erie during a fishing trip, authorities said on Thursday, according to Reuters.

The bodies of two of four missing boaters were recovered in the western part of Lake Erie a day after the group left for an afternoon of fishing and sent pictures to relatives, Reuters reported.

Searchers found a partially submerged boat on a reef near the Davis-Besse nuclear power plant and later spotted the bodies of a teenage girl and a woman, authorities said, according to Reuters.

Both of the victims were wearing life jacket and were identified as Amy Santus, 33, of Perrysburg, near Toledo, and Paige Widmer, 16, the Ottawa County sheriff's office said, Reuters reported.

Santus and Widmer had been on the boat with two men, who also were reported missing, according to Reuters. The Coast Guard said Thursday night that it had suspended its search for the remaining two boaters "pending any new developments."

Authorities narrowed the search to an area about 30 miles east of Toledo after finding the 21-foot-long boat Thursday morning, Reuters reported. Crews had searched a combined more than 200 square nautical miles of the lake by Thursday evening, the Coast Guard said.

The boaters' truck and boat trailer were found at a marina where they headed out on the lake, according to Reuters.

County Sheriff Steve Levorchick said the boaters had contacted relatives on Wednesday afternoon, Reuters reported.

"They did send pictures back to family members of themselves fishing," Levorchick said, according to Reuters.

U.S. Coast Guard boats and helicopters along with other rescue crews began searching the lake about 2 a.m. Thursday after receiving a call about the group, Reuters reported. The boaters were supposed to return from their fishing trip early Wednesday evening.

The average water temperature within the search area was about 35 to 40 degrees, the Coast Guard said, according to Reuters.