MONROE LAKE – Conservation officers will continue the search today at Lake Monroe for the two missing men using multiple types of side scan sonar, remotely operated vehicles (ROV), and scuba divers.
Search crews battled heavy wind and waves on the water Monday. Today’s subsiding wind conditions will aid in the search and recovery operation. Windy weather was making the effort to find them much more difficult.
Siddhant Shah, 19, and Aryan Vaidya, 20, were boating on a pontoon with friends on Monroe Lake Saturday afternoon when the group anchored not far from the Paynetown boat launch to swim. When both men did not resurface, friends tried to help but were unsuccessful. Not everyone was wearing life jackets.
More than a dozen family members and friends spent all day Monday lined up on the dock, watching the search and praying for a miracle in what’s now most likely a recovery mission.
Indiana University Student Services assisted with transporting the group back to campus and providing counseling services.
Units assisting in the search include the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, Bloomington Police Department, IU Police Department, Monroe County Dive Team, IU Dean of Students Office, Monroe Fire Protection District, and IU Health EMS.
