The search for 11-year-old Angelique Cunningham ended without her being found. Toledo Fire Chief Allison Armstrong said Friday evening that crews had used up every resource they had on western Lake Erie, according to 13abc.
The girl, from Toledo, had gone out on a boat late Wednesday night, July 1, with a neighbor, 41-year-old Kristen Gerrie, and a 38-year-old man named Jonathan Ciha. Lucas County Sheriff Mike Navarre said she vanished from the boat less than 15 minutes after it left Meinke Marina in Jerusalem Township, and that she was in Gerrie’s care at the time.
A body in the water, then a missing child
A boater spotted Ciha’s body in the water at about 9:50 a.m. on Thursday, July 2, and phoned 911. The deputy coroner said he drowned, though the circumstances and manner of his death were still under investigation. Gerrie swam to shore. The boat itself was recovered near West Sister Island.
Crews from Toledo Fire and Rescue, the sheriff’s office, the Coast Guard, Oregon Fire, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and Jerusalem Township Fire were at the scene to recover the man. Only then did they learn a child might also be missing. The agencies set up a unified command and turned to finding her.
Lucas County Sheriff’s Captain Bobby Chromik was cautious at first. “I don’t think anybody’s being considered a suspect, per se,” he said, calling it probably a horrific accident. “But our primary focus right now is to find the 11-year-old to make sure she’s safe.”
The Coast Guard’s search
Coast Guard Sector Detroit said it was notified around 11 a.m. Thursday that partner agencies were looking into an incident tied to a missing boater. It sent Station Marblehead to the scene, where crews found the vessel and began searching. A crew in an MH-60 Dolphin helicopter from Air Station Detroit joined them, and Station Toledo took part as well.
The teams worked through the night. CBC News reported that the Coast Guard suspended the search at 8:43 a.m. Friday, after covering roughly 256 square nautical miles. The service said all available resources had been committed. Customs and Border Protection and the Toledo Fire Department also helped, alongside the agencies already named.
13abc reported that the effort had shifted from rescue to recovery early Friday, because officials doubted she would be found alive.
A charge, and an open question
On Friday, July 3, Gerrie was arrested at a home in Toledo at 4 p.m. and charged with endangering children. She is being held on a $50,000 bond. Lucas County deputies described her as the child’s babysitter, while family members told 13abc she was a neighbor. What Gerrie told investigators on Thursday has not been made clear.
Anyone with information can contact Coast Guard Sector Detroit, or call or text Crime Stoppers at 419-255-1111.
Sources
- Coast Guard suspends search for missing 11-year-old boater in Lake Erie | CBC News
- Woman arrested in disappearance of Toledo girl; Lake Erie search suspended Friday
