Mercer Island police said the search for two missing boaters on Lake Washington is now a recovery effort.
Police believe a 33-year-old man and a 31-year-old woman were swimming and likely drowned. Their search began Monday night when police were called to the empty boat following a complaint of a boat playing loud music.
Police said the boat was empty but found evidence there were two people on board. A truck and trailer associated with the 20-foot ski-type boat were also located at the Gene Coulon Park in Renton.
Police have not officially released the names of the man and the woman, but friends told KING 5 the two people missing from the boat were Vanna Nguyen and James Le.
On Wednesday, friends and family of Nguyen posted fliers around the places she visited the day she disappeared. They are asking people along Lake Washington to check their security cameras for video of what happened and are asking anyone with information to contact the Mercer Island Police Department.
Friends said Le’s family continued to search Lake Washington Wednesday.
While the boat was found around 10:30 p.m., police believe the two got on the water hours earlier. Police said the boat drifted, which makes it difficult to pinpoint where Nguyen and Le disappeared.
There was a multi-agency search that included the United States Coast Guard on Tuesday. That search was suspended Tuesday night. Mercer Island police said they’re using the cellphones and GPS tracking to determine a where the two may have drowned.
Police said they will begin recovery efforts once a smaller parameter is created on Lake Washington.