Search for missing U of M student in Chicago River suspended

The search for 21-year-old Lauren Li, who fell into the Chicago River early Monday morning, has been temporarily suspended due to weather conditions.

Li is presumed dead, and the search was suspended late Tuesday afternoon. Chicago Police say they'll resume the search when weather and river conditions improve.

"It's cold, there's ice, and if there's ice out there, we can't operate boats safely," said Chicago police officer Jose Estrada Wednesday morning. "We can't endanger other lives. We have to wait until conditions improve."

Around 7 a.m. Wednesday, the temperature in Chicago was 7 degrees below zero.

Li fell into the river as she tried to help her friend, Ken Hoang, 26, after he jumped a fence in downtown Chicago and fell into the river. Hoang had dropped his cell phone in the river and tried to retrieve it when he fell. He was pulled out the river by a rescue crew shortly after midnight, but died hours later at a Chicago hospital.

The Cook County medical examiner's office autopsy confirmed that Hoang drowned and that alcohol contributed to his death, which was ruled an accident.

The incident took place on the 400 block of E. North Water Street.

A third friend survived when he was pulled out of the river --- 23-year-old Quoc-Viet Phan Hoang. He apologized on Facebook for not being able to save his friends.

Li is a student in the College of Biological Sciences at the University of Minnesota, and Quoc-Viet Hoang is enrolled in the university's College of Liberal Arts. Ken Hoang attended the University of Minnesota through 2010, according to the University of Minnesota directory.