Family of man who died after boat capsized on Lake Michigan seek answers

Lorenzo Tobin and his brother talked about one day buying a boat and sailing it on Lake Michigan.

Lorenzo Tobin spent nearly every weekend working on boats at the lake despite living miles away from the shore in south suburban Country Club Hills, his brother, Steven Tobin, said. He was also a strong swimmer.

That's why the family was shocked when Lorenzo Tobin went missing when the boat he was on capsized on the lake Friday. Lorenzo Tobin, 40, was found dead in the water days later, and now his family wants answers.

"We're trying to get a better understanding of what happened on that boat," Steven Tobin said, adding that the family has been taking the last few days "one step at a time."

Lorenzo Tobin was on a pleasure boat about 7:30 p.m. Friday near 31st Street Harbor when the vessel capsized, throwing him and 15 others into the lake, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. Fifteen people were rescued and three of them required hospitalization.

Lorenzo Tobin didn't resurface after going into the water. Crews searched for hours but couldn't locate him that day and shifted to a recovery effort.

Lorenzo Tobin's body was found and pulled from the lake Sunday afternoon near the 3100 block of South DuSable Lake Shore Drive after his family spotted a body floating in the water. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The cause and manner of his death were pending an autopsy by the Cook County medical examiner's office.

Steven Tobin, 39, said his brother had been hired to help out for a birthday party with more than a dozen people on the boat. Other than the captain, Lorenzo Tobin didn't know anyone on board.

After speaking with investigators and people who were on the boat, Steven Tobin said it appeared the boat started having trouble because there were too many people on one side of the boat. But he stressed that investigators needed to determine exactly what happened, including whether there was a problem with the boat.

Steven Tobin said other boaters told him his brother was handing out life jackets and trying to save people as the incident unfolded. That he would think of others in a crisis speaks of his character, Steven Tobin said.

"He would help you do anything, no matter the situation that you are in," Steven Tobin said. "Even if you're on the side of the road trying to fix a tire he'd get out and help you."

Lorenzo Tobin was devoted to family and leaves behind his wife, a teenage son and an adult stepdaughter, Steven said. Though he adored boating, he also loved playing basketball and classic cars.

"He was someone who if you encountered them you would want to meet again," Steven Tobin said.