Relatives grieve loss of IU students, Sycamore grad who disappeared in Indiana Lake

Siddhant Shah and Aryan Vaidya's family and friends kept vigil along a rocky Lake Monroe shore four days as divers combed the cold waters for the two Indiana University students whose bodies were recovered Tuesday morning.

Each day, 10 to 20 people gathered and quietly watched as rescue divers in patrol boats searched and searched.

Shah and Vaidya had been swimming Saturday afternoon during an outing with friends on a rented double-deck pontoon boat. Both disappeared in the 60-degree water after one apparently tried to save the other. Others attempted to save the two who disappeared beneath the water, but couldn't.

News:Body of Sycamore grad recovered at Indiana lake

What started out as a sunny spring day on the scenic lake for about 20 Indiana University students with Indian heritage turned tragic early Saturday afternoon.

A search for the two that day was unsuccessful, and the next two days brought high winds that churned the water and made the use of sonar detection devices impossible.

Rescue divers, usually 12 on duty at a time, searched about 40 hours from Saturday afternoon until the bodies were found at 11:20 a.m. Tuesday in 18-foot-deep water.

The site is about 300 yards straight out from the edge of the Paynetown parking lot where family and friends gathered, hoped, prayed and grieved.

Indiana Department of Natural Resources Lt. Angela Goldman was the officer in charge of the search, the public information officer and the family liaison in the case. She met with Shah and Vaidya's families a final time once the search concluded.

She said the waiting was difficult for the family and frustrating for rescue workers. "We knew right where they were, but it took us a long time and it was tricky because the equipment we depend on can't be effective in those conditions. Our hands were tied because of the weather. We kept trying."

DNR divers got out at sunrise Tuesday; the winds had died down and the whitecaps had subsided. "Today went just like it was supposed to," Goldman said.

Relatives grieve loss of Siddhant Shah and Sycamore graduate Aryan Vaidya

Vaidya's parents came from Cincinnati, where he graduated in 2021 from Sycamore High School; Shah's parents live in India, and he came to IU from there. Goldman said some of Shah's U.S. relatives, who were in contact with the 19-year-old's parents, were present as the search continued.

IU said both Shah and Vaidya, who was 20, were students in IU's Kelley School of Business.

A few hours after the bodies were found and taken away, some of those gathered walked, one or two at a time to the edge of the shore, peering across the lake. They lingered there, mired in sadness.

They looked out to a site where just four days earlier friends laughed and relaxed in the sun on a break from studying for final exams.

Last year:Divers recover body of Springville man in Lake Monroe

Goldman said autopsies will be done on both students. The investigation is continuing. Conservation officers removed alcoholic beverages from the pontoon boat. Goldman said "it's undetermined if that played a major role" in what happened.

The lake temperature was about 60 degrees Saturday, she said. According to the National Center for Cold Water Safety, it can become difficult to regulate breathing when swimming in water that cold.

Goldman said the easiest way to prevent drowning is to wear a life jacket, especially when swimming in rough waters. They were available on the pontoon boat, and some of the students used them, she said. Vaidya and Shah, who was a strong swimmer, didn't.

"Drownings happen quickly, and they can happen to everyone," Goldman said, "but likely not if you wear a life jacket." With the lake season just getting underway, she encourages everyone to use flotation devices in the water.

Drownings happen at Lake Monroe nearly every year. Last June, a Springville man drowned in the lake while trying to rescue his wife, who was struggling while swimming.

Contact H-T reporter Laura Lane at llane@heraldt.com or 812-318-5967.