Monticello man dies trying to launch boat on Tippecanoe River

UPDATE: The victim has been identified as 72-year-old Robert Guinnup.

MONTICELLO, Ind. (WISH) — A Monticello man died Saturday night while trying to launch a boat into the Tippecanoe River, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources says.

White County dispatchers received a call shortly before 6:15 p.m. Saturday about a possible drowning upstream from the Bluewater Beach Park river-access site in Monticello. Witnesses said the man launched a boat before inserting the drain plug. The man was unable to board the sinking boat and instead tried to swim to shore, state conservation officers say.

After the man went below the water’s surface while swimming, bystanders rushed in, rescued the man and then gave him CPR, conservation officers say.

The man was taken to IU Health White Memorial Hospital, where he died. An autopsy has been scheduled. Conservation officers withheld the name of the man until his family is notified.