By John Reed Staff WriterBASS LAKE — Despite working all day Monday, searchers were unable to locate the body of the pilot of a small personal helicopter which crashed in Bass Lake Sunday even-ing.
After working all day, crews were able to drag the small Robinson 44 helicopter off a sandbar and tow it to a launch ramp near the Bass Lake Fish Hatchery. M&M Towing of Knox used a winch on a rollback tow truck to pull the aircraft up to shore.
The search will continue for the body of the pilot, now believed to be that of Bruce Groen, a resident of Bass Lake and Crete, Ill. Groen was the owner of Groen Concrete of Lansing, Ill., a large commercial concrete building firm with projects in Illinois and Northwest Indiana. The small two-passenger helicopter went down, apparently after engine trouble, shortly before 8:30 p.m. Sunday night on the northwest side of Bass Lake. Shortly after residents heard the helicopter smack into the lake with a loud boom, resident Pete Knutel jumped into his pontoon boat, along with Bass Lake Fire-fighter Willie Risner. A short distance out from shore, they heard someone calling for help and paddling in the water. A woman, now believed to be Stephanie Nottke, 41, of Illinois, was pulled onto the boat and Knutel raced for shore while Risner administered CPR.
The woman was rushed to Starke Memorial Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Police had not made official notification of her identity as of Monday night. She was Groen’s secretary.
During the day Monday, Groen’s wife Tammy, aunt, brother and mother sat in a rescue van to escape the onlookers.
Bass Lake residents were familiar with Groen’s habits, saying he shuttled back and forth from Crete to Bass Lake regularly. Bill Norris, a former helicopter pilot who lives at 4492 S. 210, was used to having Groen fly over his house.
But Sunday night, the flight took on an entirely new tone, and Norris knew something was wrong when he heard the helicopter. “There was a backfire as it went over and it wasn’t running right. Then the engine went out. There was a ‘boom’ and I thought the side of my house was hit by my neighbor. Then it was real quiet and I could hear the man and woman hollering for help,” Norris said.
Knutel’s daughter, Noreen, heard the noise and saw the lights of the aircraft sink into the lake. The first call to 911 came in at 8:28 p.m. Sunday, from a Keith Wright. Norris called one minute later, then two more calls came in.
It was only a few minutes later, at 8:45 p.m., that rescuers reported having the woman on the pontoon boat.Anyone venturing onto County Road 210 Sunday night became immediately aware that something tragic was happening. A large cluster of floodlights and flashing emergency beacons in front of Norris’ house could be seen for miles. The road around the lake was dotted with the flashing blue lights of firefighters’ vehicles.
But only a couple of dozen spectators, mostly nearby residents, were at the scene, standing in small groups, mostly talking about the helicopter pilot and his well-known flying habits.
About a half mile of the road was completely blocked, and throughout the night more pickups and SUVs raced up, unloading divers from Starke, Marshall and Pulaski counties.
At 9:07 p.m., police received word that there were six Marshall County divers en route.
At 9:24, the LaPorte County HazMat team radioed that they were en route from LaPorte.At 11:14 p.m., all Starke County fire departments were notified that the search was being called off.
Monday, emergency crews reassembled at Bass Lake State Beach. The Indiana State Police, Federal Aviation Administration and dozens of Indiana Department of Natural Resources officers showed up, along with Bass Lake Fire Department members and more dive teams.
Local Attorney Todd Wallsmith, a flying enthusiast, said the type of helicopter involved is popular with fliers because it is lightweight and inexpensive, costing $150,000 to $200,000.Commercial helicopters such as those used by medical services can cost from $4 to $5 million.
The bad part, Wallsmith said, is that the lightweight aircraft have only a rotary engine, not diesel, and are easily subject to damage from vibration.
“It’s such a tragedy, things like that don’t happen in Starke County. This is a small quiet community,” said Dana Spiewak of North Judson, the manager of Bass Lake Beach & Campground, site of the command headquarters.—Cheryl Patrick contributed to this story.
