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Urgent Search Underway: Indiana Dunes National Park and Coast Guard Respond to Mayday Alert

PORTER, Ind. (WLS) — The mission to locate a missing vessel in Lake Michigan was called off by emergency teams Thursday evening, amid an ongoing search for a boat purportedly in distress, according to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.

Authorities honed in on an area approximately two miles northwest of Indiana Dunes State Park, prompted by a distress call picked up through a marine radio, the IDNR confirmed.

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Since the initial mayday transmission, all attempts at contact with the vessel have proved unsuccessful.

“The US Coast Guard reported receiving the sole Mayday call via a marine radio. In response, we dispatched boats and shore patrols to the scene,” explained the IDNR in a Thursday evening update. “Our search efforts were supported by the US Coast Guard’s boat and helicopter units, the Porter County Marine Unit, along with US National Park personnel on boats, the Porter Fire Department, and several other agencies who arrived via land routes. Despite extensive efforts lasting several hours, we found no distressed vessels, no unusual activity, and there were no subsequent mayday calls.”

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