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Lake Forest doctor drowns; ‘she will not be forgotten’
Victoria Kut | PHOTO FROM LAKE SHORE ONCOLOGY/HEMATOLOGY WEB SITE
A TRAGIC
SEVEN WEEKS
LAKE COUNTY DROWNINGS
June 18 — Richard Stoneking, 44, of Park City drowned in Gages Lake
June 28 — John Michalek, 63, of Berwyn drowned in West Loon Lake
July 1 — Lukasz Barabasz, 29, of Chicago drowned in Deep Lake
Saturday — Daniel Villalobos-Barajas, 19, of Antioch drowned in White Lake
Sunday — Dr. Victoria Cut, 44, of Lake Forest drowned in Lake Michigan
Maps
Updated: August 20, 2012 6:37AM
LAKE FOREST -- Dr. Victoria Kut, 44, drowned this past weekend while swimming in Lake Michigan.
Dr. Kut -- who lived on Winwood Drive in Lake Forest -- was an oncologist with offices in Lake Forest and Libertyville. She became a member of the Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital medical staff in 2005 and also worked at Advocate Condell Medical Center.
“Dr. Victoria Kut was admired by our physicians, nurses and the entire Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital family,” said Chief Medical Officer Michael G. Ankin. “We are sad that we have lost not only an intelligent and skillful clinician but also a friend and colleague who exemplified caring for those who needed it most — cancer patients. She will not be forgotten.”
Leigh Ostrander was a patient of Dr. Kut’s for two years and always felt she was in capable hands.
“She was very serious, very meticulous about making sure everything was correct,” Ostrander said. “She was extremely knowledgable and very caring.”
When Ostrander had a question about an emergency one night regarding her condition, she said Dr. Kut called her from home on her personal cell phone.
“She was that type of doctor,” Ostrander said. “Her staff and her patients loved her.”
An autopsy performed Monday confirmed she drowned. Dr. Kut was found wearing a swimming suit and “by all accounts was a very good swimmer,” Lake County Coroner Artis Yancey said.
Her body was found 2.5 miles off of Forest Park Beach, which is at the east end of Deerpath approximately seven hours after she was reported missing, according to Lake Forest police. Dr. Kut’s husband reported her missing to Lake Forest police after he discovered she was not home and found her unoccupied vehicle in the area of the park.
Home searched
Police units responded to the call at 3:15 a.m. Sunday and searched the park, including the beach and shoreline using night-vision equipment. Highland Park police also responded with a K9 unit.
Police searched the woman’s car and home. Local law-enforcement agencies were informed about the missing woman via radio broadcasts.
About 20 fire agencies responded to the area with watercraft and divers to perform a coordinated search of the shoreline. United States Coast Guard units also responded to the scene about 5:50 a.m.
A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter flying over the water about two miles east of Forest Park Beach spotted what they believed to be a person floating below. The Lake Forest Fire Department responded by boat and located a deceased victim matching the description of the missing woman. She was transported by boat to Forest Park.
Visitation is slated for Friday, July 20 from 5 p.m.-8 p.m. at Wenban Funeral Home in Lake Forest. A funeral mass will occur at 10 a.m. on Saturday, July 21 at the Church of St. Mary in Lake Forest. Visit wenbanfh.com for more information.
