Body of 1 of 2 Missing Boys Found In Lake Michigan
Divers found the body of a 14-year-old Indiana boy in Lake Michigan on Tuesday, two days after he and a friend were swept away by strong currents on a day when red flags warned beachgoers to stay out of the water, said Gene Davis, a conservation officer with the state Department of Natural Resources.
The body of 14-year-old Scott Hoover of South Bend was pulled out of the water about 8 a.m., near a Michigan City pier where he and 17-year-old Lorenzo Greer of South Bend were last seen late Sunday afternoon.
Divers continued to search the area for Greer, Davis said.
Authorities said lifeguards at nearby Washington Park had displayed red warning flags Sunday, closed the beach's designated swimming area all day and told swimmers along other parts of the beach to stay out of the water. A red flag also flew at the park entrance.
"The red flags mean people aren't supposed to be in the water at all," Davis said.
"There's no way to keep people out of the water the whole length of the beach," he said, adding that officers cannot arrest or ticket people who choose to swim despite the warnings.
The U.S. Coast Guard reports that 68 people have died in Lake Michigan this year, the most in at least eight years. Davis believes the spike in Lake Michigan drownings is mostly the result of hotter weather and warmer water drawing more swimmers.
"Last summer was one of the coolest summers on record," he said. "This summer it's the exact opposite."
Chief Rebecca Polzin, the officer in charge at the Coast Guard station in Michigan City, said people need to "respect the water" and heed warnings about Lake Michigan.
"When the lifeguard or the Coast Guard or the DNR is telling you not to do something, there's a good reason," Polzin said.
Lt. Junior Grade Casey Steuer, who is stationed at the Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan in Milwaukee, told the South Bend Tribune the Coast Guard is working to raise public awareness of Lake Michigan's strength.
The lake's victims this summer have been of all ages, and the deaths aren't isolated to people at beaches, Steuer said. Some of the drownings have occurred while people capsized in kayaks or were swimming off boats.
The only common thread among the 68 drownings is none of the victims were wearing personal flotation devices, he said.
He said some people might think of Lake Michigan as a gentle inland lake or as safe as a pool.
"In reality, it's a freshwater ocean," Steuer said. "It's a very dangerous body of water."
Information from: South Bend Tribune, http://www.southbendtribune.com
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
