Search for missing swimmer resumes at Chicago area beach for third day
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The search resumes Tuesday morning for a 41-year-old man who went missing while swimming at Lighthouse Beach in north suburban Evanston on Sunday.
Crews returned to the water around 8 a.m. Tuesday. The search for the 41-year-old man was suspended around 2:30 p.m. on Monday, police said, though the beach remained closed to the public. The choppy waters made the recovery efforts difficult for first responders.
The man was one of four swimmers who got caught in choppy water on Sunday afternoon, with waves of up to 5 feet. A good Samaritan jumped into action and managed to pull three of the swimmers – a mother and her two teenage daughters – out of the water before first responders could arrive. The man has not yet been found.
It's not clear what the missing man's relationship is to the three others.
Since Sunday, crews have used boats, jet skis, helicopters, drones, and sonar equipment to search the lake for the missing man.
This week we've seen crews conducting an extensive search with helicopters…drones and sonar technology.
Officials said the choppy waters on Lake Michigan since Sunday have made the search difficult, with limited visibility and 4- to 5-foot waves.
It's still not clear why the swimmers were in the water on Sunday. There was a red flag swimming ban in effect at the time due to the rough surf.
As the search resumed on Tuesday, visibility continued to be a challenge.
"Visibility has been pretty poor in the water. Water conditions make it difficult with any of the sonar that we're using," Evanston Fire Department Field Chief Sean Malloy said. "At the end of the day, it doesn't matter how strong of a swimmer you are. At the end of the day, those currents are going to take you out there, and just be careful."
Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project co-founder David Benjamin said even experienced swimmers can find themselves in danger during red flag conditions like on Sunday.
"If they are jumping in the waves, and then next thing you know they are stepping into a rip current channel, now they have water over their head, and they are being pulled offshore as a wave is pounding them over the head," Benjamin said.
Lighthouse Beach is expected to reopen to swimmers on Tuesday when lifeguards go on duty at 10:30 a.m.