The terrible loss of 18-year-old Rodrigo “Rico” Montes, whose corpse was found a few days after a collision that left a pickup vehicle buried in Deep River, is being mourned by the Lake Station community.
When officials found the wrecked car close to the intersection of 27th Avenue and Wyoming Street in Lake Station, Indiana, early on Monday morning, Montes had gone missing. An massive multi-day search including local police, firemen, and conservation authorities was spurred by the finding.
Investigators said that after hearing reports of a car in the river, they found the submerged truck just before 4:30 a.m. on Monday. Reporters were informed by family members that Montes was supposed to return home by 11 p.m. the previous evening after attending a picnic, but he never did. When Montes could not be found, police began to worry that a male occupant had fled the collision. This prompted a concerted search operation throughout the region.
Throughout the week, search crews combed the river using drones, sonar, a ROV, and several dive units. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources Dive Team discovered Montes’ corpse in Deep River on Thursday morning at around 11:20 a.m., just 50 feet from the location of the sunken truck that had been found earlier in the week. The family was informed immediately after the Lake Station Fire Department verified the recovery.
Montes was thought to have been a passenger in the vehicle when it crashed, according to the authorities. According to NBC Chicago, officials are attempting to ascertain how the car got off the road and into the river, as well as if speed or intoxication had any bearing. Although authorities have not yet disclosed any more information about the charges or the events leading up to the collision, a suspect related to the incident was brought into custody.
Montes is a polite and kind young guy who is a senior at River Forest High School with a bright future, according to his family. Before leaving the event on Sunday night, he reportedly got in touch with his loved ones and thought he was getting a lift home from a buddy. In an attempt to locate him, family members called hospitals and the police after he failed to return. The neighborhood has been crushed by the days-long search and the final revelation of his death.
Authorities are attempting to piece together what happened before the collision and ascertain the complete facts behind Montes’ death as the inquiry progresses. Friends, students, and family members who have left flowers and inscriptions in his memory have gathered somberly at the Deep River recovery site. According to police, more details about the suspect and the crash’s cause will be made public as the investigation moves forward.