New Years Eve should have been a happy occasion for Michael Hilling and Jessica Woytonik, who were at the lakefront celebrating their first anniversary as a couple. The evening took a turn for the worst when Woytonik accidentally dropped her water bottle into Lake Michigan and Hilling, 19, jumped in to retrieve it and ended up drowning. more ›

tragic news from the Southeast side yesterday as a body found floating in Jackson Harbor was discovered to be 14-month-old Dontrell Johnson. The child was missing since Monday, when he was picked up by his father, Donald Johnson, who refused to turn Dontrell over to his mother, threatened the boy with harm unless Donald Johnson and Dontrell's mother reconciled, and refused to tell police of the boy's whereabouts. more ›

Dawn Brancheau, the trainer killed by a whale yesterday at Sea World (Orlando) was a native of Cedar Lake, Indiana. Brancheau, 40, died from drowning yesterday afternoon when the whale Tilikum grabbed her and pulled her under. From ABC 7: more ›

Authorities in southern Illinois reported today that a mother, her 7-year-old son, and his 6-year-old friend appear to have fallen through the ice and drowned in a lake in St. Clair County. The victims have been identified as 40-year-old Kathy Baxmeyer, her son, Kadin, and his friend Steve "Austin" Baum. Authorities said the bodies were recovered from the lake early Saturday. more ›

A body of a man in his 20's pulled from Lake Michigan yesterday may be that of missing Northwestern student Travis Boehm. Boehm has been missing since November 9 and late last week, searchers found his jacket and other personal items on a Lake Michigan beach near the Northwestern campus. The body was found about six miles south of where the personal items were found. An autopsy was scheduled at the Stein Institute and police also hope to make a positive identification of the body today. more ›

The body of 14 year-old DeVante Jackson was recovered from Lake Michigan this morning after several reports of an object in the water from people at the beach. Jackson had been swimming on Sunday afternoon with friends at Kemil Beach at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, a quarter of a mile away from where his body was found. Officials suspect that Jackson drowned when he was pulled under by a rip current, but an autopsy will be performed by the Porter County coroner's office to determine the official cause of death. [Trib, S-T] more ›

Holiday weekends tend to bring out the freak accidents and unfortunate circumstances. This weekend is no different. Already there are reports of: more ›