Woman pulled from Lake Michigan identified as 53 years old

The Cook County medical examiner released the name of the woman who died Monday following a boating accident near Winnetka.

Cristen Bolan, 53, was recovered from Lake Michigan Monday morning, about a mile offshore after the sailboat she was on capsized Sunday evening. Bolan was dead by the time the Coast Guard transported her to Montrose Harbor, according to the Chicago Fire Department.

As of press time (11:50 a.m. Tuesday), the medical examiner had not provided Bolan's hometown or cause of death.

Two women reportedly boarded a 12-foot sailboat Sunday evening, launched from Evanston and capsized near Winnetka at dusk. According to the release, a passenger swam approximately 2 miles to Tower Road Beach, initiating a search and rescue operation.

The release states that both individuals were wearing life jackets. The boat would be 2 or 3 miles from shore.

Around 2 a.m. Monday, the second woman came ashore and alerted authorities to a missing woman, eventually identified as Bolan, according to a statement from the Winnetka Fire Department, which along with local station of the Coast Guard in Wilmette and neighboring municipalities, launched a search. and rescue mission to locate Bolan and the boat.

The Coast Guard eventually pulled Bolan from the water a mile offshore north of Winnetka and transported her to Montrose Harbor in Chicago, the closest place the 45-foot boat could unload, according to the press release.

According to Coast Guard officials, first responders performed CPR while en route to the Montrose Harbor and then the individual was placed in the custody of local paramedics. Chicago Fire officials said the woman was later pronounced dead.

The incident is not related to the search for a missing swimmer in the Chicago “park” area near Oak Street Beach and Navy Pier, nor to another swimmer pulled from Montrose Harbor Monday morning.

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