Body of 17-year-old from Minnesota found in Lake Michigan near Indiana Dunes
CHICAGO (CBS) — The body of a missing teenage swimmer from Minnesota was recovered Thursday in Lake Michigan in Northwest Indiana.
A Beverly Shores police officer confirmed the body of a 17-year-old boy from Eagan, Minnesota, was found Thursday around 7:30 a.m., about 2.5 miles west from where the boy first went missing. His name has not been released.
The Indiana Department of Natural Resources confirmed the boy was last seen swimming near Kemil Beach in Beverly Shores, Indiana around 2 p.m. on Tuesday. He was with two other people who were rescued with help from a Good Samaritan.
Crews responded to a call for swimmers in distress and located two swimmers and a Good Samaritan who required medical treatment.
The IDNR said the search effort became a recovery mission on Wednesday.
The Porter Fire Department chief said beach conditions had been rough, and the swimmers were dealing with high waves. He believes the swimmer disappeared about 50 feet from shore.
"If you look at the lake, you can see the waves," said Chief Jay Craig. "We have 4 to 6-foot waves that are rolling and that's just conditions that our divers can't enter the water [with] the turbulence. They'll roll in the waves. It's very dangerous. It inhibits the boats from being able to get close to shore, because they'll get picked up by the waves."
Andy Himan, the fire chief in Beverly Shores, said the swimmers should not have been in the water to begin with due to dangerous conditions.
"People seem to think it's a body of water, it's like a swimming pool," Himan said. "It's not. Not even close. This lake can change in a matter of minutes."
The Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project said there have been 39 drownings on Lake Michigan so far this year, not including the teen whose body was found Thursday. On average, about 50 people drown in the lake each year.
