Woman dies 10 days after being pulled from Montrose Harbor

SHARE Woman dies 10 days after being pulled from Montrose Harbor

A woman died early Friday, 10 days after she was pulled from Montrose Harbor in Lake Michigan on the North Side.

Cristal Garcia, 18, of the 3600 block of South Paulina Street, was pronounced dead at Weiss Memorial Hospital at 5:20 a.m., the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office said.

Emergency crews initially responded about 2:05 a.m. April 28 to the call of a person in the water near Montrose Harbor, police said.

Garcia was pulled out of the water and taken to Weiss Memorial Hospital, where she remained in critical condition until her death Friday morning, authorities said.

An autopsy performed Saturday found Garcia died of complications of near drowning, the medical examiner’s office said. Her death was ruled an accident.

Police said she was one of two people who appeared to have been swimming in the lake when they were overtaken by strong currents.

At the time, fire officials continued to search for a possible second person but did not immediately find anyone in the water.

But a Chicago Police Marine Unit dive team found a man’s body about 11:10 a.m. the next day, also near Montrose Harbor, police said.

The Cook County Medical Examiner’s office identified him as 20-year-old Victor Martinez, of the 2100 block of North Latrobe Avenue.

An autopsy indicated Martinez drowned, with alcohol intoxication listed as a secondary cause of death. His death was ruled an accident.

Area North detectives are investigating.

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