BROOKVILLE, Ind. -- Helen Baker believed in conquering her fears.
Though extremely afraid of drowning, the 30-year-old Brookville mother of two learned to swim at a young age and liked it so much she swam on her high school team all four years.
On Friday, she told her sister she was afraid of Brookville Lake because it was so big. But that didn't stop her plans to fish with friends Sunday.
Ms. Baker was one of two people who drowned Sunday night after the boat they were riding in sunk in a sudden severe summer storm. "It was really surprising that anything like this would ever happen to her because she was such a good swimmer," her sister, Anna Colwell, said Tuesday.
Also dead is Larry Bruns, 46, a Brookville father of three who owned a corn and soybean farm and drove a truck for a Brookville packaging company.
"Larry was a man who was as strong as an ox. For him not to make it to shore it had to be bad," said Abe Dare, Mr. Bruns' former brother-in-law. Friends said the only survivor, Ms. Baker's boyfriend, Richard "Ricky" Lucas, 42, of Brookville, was in shock over the loss of two people so close to him. Mr. Lucas declined to comment.
Officials said the three had been fishing near the Wolfe Creek area when the storm hit about 8:30 p.m. Sunday.
Ms. Baker's body was found Monday night near the Templeton Flats area, a mile south of where the boat went down.
Searchers located Mr. Bruns' body 10 hours later.
Investigators said they are working to determine whether anything else contributed to the accident.
Aimee Bruns, 20, described her father as a friendly man who liked to fish and was an expert trap shooter. She said he usually went to a club on Sundays to shoot, but had opted to fish last Sunday.
Mr. Bruns' death has hit the family hard, she said, but especially her brother, Dustin, 17, and her younger sister, Stacy, 11.
"We're all upset," she said. "But a lot of people have been stopping by and offering support -- asking if there is anything they can do."
Mr. Bruns moved his family to Brookville more than 10 years ago, and it wasn't long after that he met and befriended Mr. Lucas.
Friends said the men were familiar with the lake.
"These were country guys who knew how to handle themselves out in the open and in the water," Mr. Dare said. "They were survivors." Ms. Colwell said her sister had two children, Christine Day, 9, and Mathew Day, 8. Also surviving are her parents, five sisters, two brothers and three half brothers.
She was born in Oxford and recently moved to Brookville, where she worked as a nurse's aide.
The service for Ms. Baker will be 10:30 a.m. today at Smith & Ogle Funeral Home, 101 W. Church St. in Oxford.
Visitation for Mr. Bruns will be 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Cook Funeral Home, 929 Main St. in Brookville. Mass will be 10:30 a.m. Friday at St. MiMichael Church, 354 High St. in Brookville.
