Woman Who Died In Lake Michigan When Sailboat Capsized Identified

WINNETKA, IL — The Cook County Medical Examiner identified the woman who drowned after a sailboat capsized Sunday in Lake Michigan.

Cristen Bolan, 53, and another woman set sail from Evanston before their 12-foot sailboat flipped over around dusk.

Bolan's companion, also in her 50s, managed to swim about two miles to Tower Road Beach in Winnetka, where she arrived around 2 a.m. Monday and notified authorities that Bolan was still out in the lake.

The Winnetka Fire Department, along with personnel from the U.S. Coast Guard and the Chicago Fire Department, launched a search and rescue operation from Lloyd Beach, utilizing boats, drones and helicopters.

Later Monday morning, a Chicago Fire helicopter located Bolan about a mile offshore, north of Winnetka, and divers pulled her from the water around 7 a.m.

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Rescuers took Bolan, whose hometown was listed as "unknown" by the medical examiner's office, to shore at Montrose Harbor, and she was pronounced dead hours later at Weiss Memorial Hospital.

Both boaters were reportedly wearing life preservers when they went into the water.

Earlier:

• Woman Dies After Sailboat Capsizes Off North Shore: Fire Officials
• Teen Dies After Being Pulled From Lake Michigan
• Boater Still Missing After Falling Into Lake Michigan Over Weekend