Bodies of 2 Missing Boaters Reportedly Pulled From Lake Michigan

DEVELOPING: The bodies of two missing boaters have been pulled from Lake Michigan after their vessel capsized early Monday, MyFoxChicago.com reports.

Authorities say a Charlevoix County dive team recovered the two boaters about eight hours after their boat flipped during the annual Chicago-to-Mackinac Island race.

According to a release from the U.S. Coast Guard, the two missing boaters were found "unresponsive" near the capsized vessel, the station reports. Their names are being withheld pending notification of kin.

The Coast Guard confirmed the boat -- named WingNuts -- capsized near Beaver Island in northern Michigan just before 1 a.m. Monday.

All six of the people recovered were wearing life preservers, and they were taken to the Coast Guard station in Charlevoix for evaluation, the Coast Guard said.

WingNuts is based in Saginaw, and seven of the eight crewmembers registered for the race are from Michigan, including three from Midland, two from Saginaw, and one each from Ann Arbor and Grandville, according to the race website. One of the crewmembers is from Chicago.

The Coast Guard located the overturned boat and was searching the surrounding area in boats and a helicopter. Thunderstorms had reportedly moved through the area overnight, and the air and water temperatures early Monday were in the low 70s, with 4- to 6-foot waves.

On their website, race organizers said the tracking system racers and fans use to follow the competition online failed, and that the Coast Guard was closely monitoring the fleet and reporting positional information to race officials.

Petty Officer George Degener said the tracking system's failure did not hinder or delay rescue efforts, and the Coast Guard said in a news release that a private company that monitors locator beacons notified it that two beacons aboard WingNuts had been activated.

According to the race website, 355 boats and roughly 3,500 crew members took part in this year's race, which starts at Chicago's Navy Pier and finishes off of Mackinac Island, near where lakes Michigan and Huron meet. The first race was held in 1898, and organizers began holding it every year starting in 1921. This year's race is the 103rd running.

The Associated Press contributed to this report 

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Boat Capsizes in Race to Mackinac, 2 Boaters Found Dead: MyFoxCHICAGO.com