Man dies after being pulled from Lake Michigan at Illinois Beach State Park
A young man died after he was pulled from Lake Michigan at Illinois Beach State Park near the Wisconsin state line Tuesday evening.
Several fire departments were called to the Camp Logan area of the state park, according to Zion Fire Chief Justin Stried. They learned that a man was unaccounted for in the water.
A Winthrop Harbor Fire Department diver got into the water quickly, and within about 10 minutes, she located the man about 12 feet below the surface. The diver got the man into a rescue boat, Stried said.
The man, who is about 19 years old, was taken to an area hospital, initially in serious condition. The man later died, according to an updated Wednesday morning from Zion fire officials.
The man's identity has not been released.
"This is our fifth call out this season to the water in Lake Michigan. This is the first drowning from a swimmer," said Winthrop Harbor Fire Chief Rocco Campanella. "The other calls have been kayak in distress — people fall off a boat or fall off a pier."
Campanella added that his department is not sufficiently equipped for some rescues — for example, it does not have, and cannot afford, a boat to handle significant waves. Campanella and Stried added that Lake County municipal fire departments do not have jurisdiction over Lake Michigan — but respond to emergencies there nevertheless.
Campanella said fire departments in Lake County depend on their neighbors to make things work in the event of an emergency — and have trained together for water rescues.
The dangers of Lake Michigan have been on display in Chicago lately too. On Father's Day, Lake Michigan took a dangerous turn for a father and his teenage sons out for a jet ski ride.
Video showed a father and sons in the water after the jet ski flipped. Some boaters came to their rescue soon afterward.
