Nicholas Bishop, 25, of McCullom Lake, died after suffering a medical emergency, which caused him to fall out of his boat and drown at Independence Grove in Libertyville, the Lake County Coroner’s Office said.
The Libertyville Fire Department was called at 11:45 a.m. on Saturday to Independence Grove Forest Preserve, 16400 West Buckley Road in Libertyville, for a report of a person in the water.
Libertyville Deputy Fire Chief Michael Pakosta said that divers responded after Bishop fell into the water off a boat. Over 20 fire departments were called to the scene to help search for the man using sonar technology.
“Many resources were needed to locate and remove the subject from the water due to the depth, topography and debris in the water,” Pakosta said.
Bishop was located and removed from the water by divers around 4:10 p.m., more than four hours after the original call.
On Monday, Lake County Coroner Dr. Howard Cooper identified Bishop, and said that he had suffered a medical emergency which caused him to fall off his fishing boat into the water where he drowned.
His cause of death was ruled a drowning. Routine toxicology testing is pending. “We have notified Mr. Bishop’s family and our deepest condolences go out to them. This was certainly a terrible tragedy,” Dr. Cooper said.
“Nick was a kind and gentle person who was mischievous in a fun, joking manner,” his obituary read.
“He loved his family very much and will be sorely missed by all who knew him.”