Lake Maxinkuckee Its Intrigue History & Genealogy Culver, Marshall, Indiana

Two missing after canoeing On Lake  



2 missing after canoeing in Lake Maxinkuckee 3 Dec 2003 - Thomas Perkins, 17, and Brandon Robinson, 18, both of Rochester, are still - -

Search resumes for two missing teens
WNDU News Story

A search is sched uled to resume Tuesday for two teens whose overturned canoe was discovered in a Marshall County lake several hours after they were reported missing Sunday night. The parents of 17-year-old Thomas Perkins and 18-year-old Brandon Robinson said the boys went canoeing on Lake Maxinkuckee in Culver Sunday afternoon. When the boys didn't return by 9 PM, the parents called police. Searchers found the overturned canoe and some clothing but not the boys. Indiana Department of Natural Resources officials said if the teens overturned their canoe in the water, they would have diffic ulty surviving in the cold lake water.
Two teens missing after canoe excursion
Two Rochester teens are missing on Lake Maxinkuckee in Culver . The lake was searched Sunday night and all day Monday for 17-year-old Tom Perkins and 18-year-old Brandon Robinson both of Rochester. The teens took advantage of Sunday's nice weather and set out in a canoe. They were last seen 100 yards from shore around 4 PM Sunday. Their canoe washed ashore around 10 PM Sunday near Culver Military Academy. The Department of Natural Resources also found oars and clothing. Searchers believe the boys shed their clothing when their canoe capsized. They did not take along life jackets. A helicopter was used to search the shallow waters and sonar was used to search the deeper water. Brian Kaser of the Department of Natural Resources says, "The winds switched early in the evening and they increased as the night went on." Hypothermia is obviously a big concern. The water temperature is 35 degrees. The DNR says with water that cold and without a life jacket, there is only about a 20 minute window of survival. If you have any information on the whereabouts of these teens, you're asked to call the Marshall County Sheriff at 574-936-3187.

and from the Plymouth Pilot News of 23 Dec 2003:
Search continues in Culver
By Anthony Gadson For the Pilot
Culver - Tragedy struck in Culver Sunday night, when a 9-1-1 call concerning two missing teens was received by the Marshall County Sheriff's Department.

Thomas Perkins, 17, and Brandon Robinson, 18, both of Rochester, are still missing after canoeing in Lake Maxinkuckee.

The boys were visiting Robinson's mother on Sunday, when they decided to take the canoe out on the lake at around 3:30 p.m., without life jackets or any other life-saving devices.

"They were seen by witnesses at 4 o'clock," said Conservation Officer Brian Kaser.

Robinson's mother and her boyfriend called 9-1-1 after coming home from church services, and realizing the boys had not returned.

The Department of Natural Resources, the Culver Police Department, the Lake Maxinkuckee Lake Patrol and the Culver Military Academy Security were all on the scene on Sunday night searching for the boys.

Searchers began to find items from the boat that had floated ashore, onto the Culver Academy campus.

"At about 10:30 (Sunday night) we found the canoe, paddles and clothing that was worn by the boys," Kaser said. "We can only assume that the boat may have capsized, then the boys took the jacket off because of its weight. When we tried to pick it up out of the water, it was probably 40 pounds."

The surface temperature Sunday night was at 35 degrees, a climate that can lead to hypothermia quickly.

"It would probably take 20 minutes before the muscles began to feel the effects, and hypothermia starts," Kaser said.

The DNR, Indiana State Police, Culver Police, Culver Volunteer Fire Department and many other onlookers were at the Culver Town Park on Monday, hoping that the search would end.

"We are using sonars in the DNR recovery boats, which can track through 40-45 feet of water," Kaser said. "We have also used Samaritan helicopters, because the water clarity is pretty good."

Searchers returned to Lake Maxinkuckee again this morning with more manpower and searching t ools, but the realization of what they will find has set in, unless the boys are at someone's house.

"Right now we are looking at this as a boat accident with two missing," Kaser said. "They were not familiar with the area, and didn't have any friends in Culver ."

Kaser encourages anyone who may have seen the boys on Sunday to call the Marshall County Sheriff's Department, (574) 936-3187, with the information.

"If anybody saw anything, it may be significant, because right now we don't know where they are at," Kaser said.


This story ran on nwitimes.com on Wednesday, December 24, 2003

Bodies of missing teens found in Marshall County lake

Culver , Ind. (AP) -- The bodies of two missing teenagers were recovered from a northern Indiana lake Wednesday, three days after they vanished while canoeing.

The canoe used by Brandon Robinson, 18, and Thomas Robinson, 17, was found Sunday night in Lake Maxinkuckee, near Culver , about 30 miles south of South Bend.

The teenagers' bodies were found 700 to 800 feet off shore in water that was about 9 feet deep, Marshall County Coroner John Grolich told Culver radio station WTCA.
Autopsies were sched uled be conducted in South Bend. Grolich said hypothermia could have caused the boys to drown.

The water temperature was about 35 degrees.