Search intensifies for missing Indiana teen after truck found in river

Search continues for missing Indiana student

The days are growing longer for a Northwest Indiana family as police investigate the disappearance of an 18-year-old man.   Kasey Chronis is live in Lake Station where he was last seen Sunday night. 

LAKE STATION, Ind. - The search for a missing high school senior from Lake Station, Indiana, is intensifying after the truck he was believed to be riding in was found overturned in a river early Monday morning.

Police are preparing to send divers back into the water on Thursday. 

What we know:

The family of the missing man has identified him as Rodrigo "Rico" Montes, 18, of Lake Station.

"We didn't believe that Rico could be in there. We never thought this could happen at all," said Saul Montes, Rico's brother.

According to Saul Montes, relatives lost contact with Rico around 11 p.m. Sunday, after he had been hanging out with friends.

Hours later, around 4 a.m. Monday, Lake Station police responded to a crash near 27th Avenue and Wyoming Street — only about a quarter mile from the Montes family home.

There, a pickup truck was pulled from the Deep River, which connects to the Little Calumet River in Lake County.

"As soon as we became aware that this was the friend's truck, our world kind of came crumbling down," Saul Montes explained.

Saul said Rico is believed to have been in the truck.

The Hobart Fire Department also responded to the scene, providing a photo of the truck with significant front-end damage.

"The driver seemed to be OK. He walked home, but Rico was nowhere to be found," Saul Montes said. 

Dig deeper:

Rico is a senior at River Forest High School in Hobart, where he was on the wrestling team.

"He just turned 18, he's getting ready to graduate. He was thinking about going to Purdue University Northwest (PNW), getting into construction management, and thinking about ROTC. He had a lot of things on his mind that he was looking forward to," his brother shared.

Now, Saul Montes says as each day passes, the family is left with more questions.

"Nothing seems to be answered," he said.

On Wednesday, a large group of friends and loved ones gathered in the area near the crash site to look for Rico.

"Rico had a lot of friends, everybody loved him," Saul Montes said.

The family is asking anyone with Ring doorbell video from the area the night he went missing, or any information about the crash, to come forward.

"We're extremely faithful, we have all our prayers with God right now," Saul Montes said. 

What's next:

The area around the crash site remains blocked to through traffic. Police say they plan to deploy divers into the water Thursday morning amid ongoing search efforts.