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Last updated on Tuesday, March 1, 2016
(MEROM) - Indiana Conservation Officers continue to search Turtle Creek Reservoir for missing 38-year-old Josue Franco of Fairbanks, Indiana.
Franco had been fishing with 72-year-old Charles Herrin of Fairbanks and 44-year-old Mathew Cornelison of Plainfield and his son 12-year-old Gabriel Cornelison, also of Plainfield.
Witnesses Mike Daley and Ernie Blankenship, both of Terre Haute, were fishing on the lake when they noticed the winds had increased severely and began to motor back to the boat ramp when they observed a capsized boat with three people clinging to the top of the boat.
Daley and Blankenship took on water into their boat while rescuing Herrin and the two Cornelison's. They did not see Franco in the water at that time. Indiana Conservation Officers credit Daley and Blankenship with saving the lives of these three individuals.
The three were in a severe state of hypothermia and would have been in an extremely dire situation had Daley and Blankenship not risked their own lives to rescue them.
Charles Herrin, Mathew Cornelison and Gabriel Cornelison were taken to Sullivan County Hospital for treatment. Mathew Cornelison was later flown by Lifeline Helicopter to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis where he remains in stable condition. Charles Herrin and Gabriel Cornelison have both been released.
The wind speeds that afternoon reached over 30 mph causing extreme wave action on the shallow lake that afternoon. Indiana Conservation Officers launched a boat that afternoon, but were forced to turn around due to the dangerous conditions.
Indiana Conservation Officers and Sullivan County Sheriff's Deputies continued to search the bank locating debris from the boat until late Sunday night. They also were able to retrieve the overturned boat from the water. Conditions remained extreme on the lake and the search was suspended due to rain and lightning on the water that night.
Indiana Conservation Officers resumed the search early Monday morning consisting of boat based sonar searches of the bottom of the lake and shoreline.
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