RedactedNarrative: Prelude:
       on 9/6/20 at approximately 9:07 pm, 9 people went for a nighttime boat ride on lake michigan.  Approximately 30 minutes into the boat ride, the passengers noticed that victim was no longer on the boat.  They heard him yelling for help in the water and were able to locate him in the lake.  They attempted to rescue him by throwing life jackets in the water, but the wind was too strong.  A female passenger jumped in the lake to get him but began to struggle also and had to be rescued by the remaining passengers.  By the time the female was pulled into the boat, the rescuers had lost sight of victim.  None of the other 8 passengers saw what caused victim to go overboard.   
  
  Details of investigation/incident:
       on 9/7/20, i conservation officer det. Sgt. received a call advising me that a possible drowning had occurred on lake michigan, and that ico was on scene working with the coast guard and illinois officers to determine if the incident happened in illinois or indiana.  I contacted ICO1 who advised that it was determined that the incident happened in indiana waters, and requested my assistance.  ICO1 advised that victim had been on a boat with 8 other people the night before on a boat ride.  At approximately 9:30 pm on 9/6/20, someone on the boat noticed that victim was missing.  ICO1 said that they were unable to locate him, and called the coast guard, who have also been unable to locate victim.  I advised him to clear the boat of everyone and to make sure no one leaves with anything.  I also asked him to get a consent to search form filled out, and to get an evidence technician from the indiana state police to respond to process the boat.  ICO1 completed the tasks.  
    
       i interviewed owner at the whiting police department in whiting, in.  I asked owner to go through the events of the day that led up to the accident.  Owner said that they were out in the boat from about 2 or 3 in the afternoon, until 6 or 7 that evening. He said that he has known victim and the rest of the people at the marina for years, and they spend every weekend together.  
  
  He said that there were a lot more people on the boat earlier in the day while they were at the beach, but most of them left when they came back to the dock in the evening.  He said that he started cooking for the people who were left on the boat, and he knew that they stayed there cooking until after dark, because he had to use his flashlight to cook on the grill.  
  
  Owner said that after the meal was over, subject1 suggested that they go for a boat ride, so they all left.  He said that he didn't remember the exact time that they left, but it had been dark for a while, so he was guessing it was about 8:30 pm.  Owner said that he was downstairs cleaning up from the meal, victim and operator untied the ropes, and operator was driving the boat.  Owner said that he didn't know exactly where they picked them up, but they picked up two others on their way out of the marina.  
  
       owner said that they pulled out of the marina but stayed inside the break wall.  He said that they didn't go fast because he was having problems with the turbo on his boat, and they wouldn't kick in, so they kept the boat around 1000 rpm's.  Owner said that at the beginning of the ride, he was standing near the back of the boat with victim and subject2 and they were arguing.  He said that they weren't arguing loudly, but he could tell that they were arguing. Owner said that he went back downstairs to continue cleaning up, and victim came down with him, followed a short time later by subject2.  He said that he was uncomfortable being down there with them both, and he distinctly remembers victim telling subject2 to "get the fuck away from me. Just get away from me."  i asked what they were arguing about, and owner said that he had no idea.  He said it wasn't a loud fight, and no one was out of control, so he couldn't hear what the fight was about.  He said that the day they had was fantastic, and there was no reason that he knew of for the fight.  
  
       owner said that victim left and went back upstairs, and subject2 stayed down with him for a few minutes crying.  Owner again said that it was awkward being down there with her.  He said that subject3 was maybe down there at that time, but he couldn't remember for sure, and subject2 was texting someone on her phone.  He asked her if she wanted to go to the front room of the boat for privacy, but she declined.  He said that subject2 went back upstairs, and was gone from 1 to 5 minutes at the most, when he heard someone yelling.  He doesn't remember who it was, but they yelled to him to check for victim downstairs.  Owner said that he checked all the rooms downstairs, but victim was not there.  They figured then that he must be in the water, and he thought that subject4 spotted him first in the water.  Owner said that victim was far away from the boat.  He said that they actually heard victim yelling first, and he was so far away that they couldn't tell if it was him.  Wes maneuvered the boat toward victim's voice, and then they all saw him.  Owner said that victim was waving his arms and yelling for help.  He said that he was screeching.  
  
       i asked owner what the water was like, and he said that he is not a marine person to know exactly how big the waves were, but he said that the water was bad.  He said that there were big waves on the lake that night.  I asked him if being on the water in that condition made him nervous, he said that it didn't.  He said that his boat is about 54 ft in length, and it handles the waves very well, so he wasn't worried.  I asked if the boat was rocking in the waves, and he said that it was when they were going slo