A glamorous young couple from Illinois was found dead near a perilous stretch of water that has been dubbed “Death’s Door” — two days after they vanished on a kayaking trip.
David Thalman, 20, and his sweetheart Franceska Warick, 20, were reported missing Saturday after they were last seen on Lake Michigan near Washington Island, a Wisconsin tourist hotspot.
Their sudden disappearance sparked a frantic three-hour search Saturday night, before the operation became a recovery mission and their bodies were tragically found off the island Monday, Door County sheriffs revealed.
Thalman’s body was found at around 10:55 a.m., with Warick’s body discovered shortly after.
Washington Island is located off the Door Peninsula and travelers must cross a five-mile strait dubbed “Death’s Door” to reach the archipelago.
More than 240 shipwrecks have been reported on the strait — which is where Lake Michigan and Green Bay meet — due to strong currents and unpredictable winds, according to the conservationist organization Friends of Plum and Pilot Islands.
Investigators suspect the couple drowned, although a former cause of death hasn’t been confirmed. They are thought to have ventured into the water without life jackets.
Jane Lee, Thalman’s former boss at a Re/Max office in Lake Bluff, told Fox32 that she knew something was amiss Sunday after he didn’t return her calls from the previous day.
Then she received a call from his mom, who told her that he was missing.
“That moment I did worry,” she said.
Lee paid a glowing tribute to Dundee native Thalman — a promising football star in high school who decided to pursue a career in real estate, rather than study at college.
“If you see the reviews from the people, he looked like he’d been doing real estate for 20 years already because he knew what he was doing,” she said.
“He’s going to make it very big in this job.”
Thalman even told her that he would take her role in the future.
“One day he said, ‘Jane, I’m going to become you one day,” she said, recalling the conversation.
Thalman would even reply to work messages while on vacation.
“If I text him, in a second I got a response,” Lee said.
Thalman had aspirations of becoming a real estate boss of his own and had mapped out a five-year plan, with Lee branding his death a “huge loss.”
It’s not clear how long Thalman was dating South Elgin-born Warick at the time of their deaths.
He shared a heartwarming snap online of the loved-up couple holding hands on Dec. 21, days before Christmas.
Aspiring esthetician Warick was an avid nature enthusiast with a “deep love for animals and the outdoors,” her family wrote in an obituary.
She also spent 10 years as a cheerleader, participating in competitions across the US and winning “numerous” awards.
Warick was passionate about her studies, but also had dreams of becoming a mom.
“Those who knew her have no doubt she would have been an incredible mother, bringing the same warmth, patience, and unconditional love to her own family that she gave so freely to everyone around her,” her family said.
“She always tried to make others laugh, lifted the spirits of those around her, and chose to see the best in people. Her loving heart, joyful spirit, and genuine kindness will forever be remembered.”
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