Man dead, woman missing after swimming in Lake Michigan with cold weather swim group, officials say
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A man died and a woman remains missing Monday after they encountered hazardous conditions while swimming in Lake Michigan, officials said. (iStock)
One man is dead and a woman is missing after the duo and eight others encountered dangerous conditions during a swim in Lake Michigan on Sunday, officials said.
Rescuers are searching Lake Michigan near Highland Park, about 25 miles north of Chicago, Monday for the 52-year-old woman from Elgin, who has been missing since waves swept her away from the rest of the group at around 9:15 a.m. Sunday. Ten people from a cold weather swim group were swimming in the lake when they “encountered difficulty due to lake conditions,” the City of Highland Park said in a news release.
Emergency responders arrived at the lake and found two swimmers in distress. A man, 46, was pulled to the shore at Park Avenue Beach and taken to the hospital, where he later died.
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The U.S. Coast Guard said the group was at the beach for a “polar-plunge type event,” The Chicago Sun-Times reported.
Steve Knapp, a member of the North Shore Yacht Club, told the Chicago Sun-Times he saw two men and a woman struggling in the water.
“I abandoned the two guys,” Knapp recalled. “The girl’s situation was more dire. She was still moving, but drowning.”
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Knapp said he and other yacht club member tried to save the woman. He went to grab a pole with a hook, but came back and couldn’t find the woman in the water.
“I’m feeling pretty mad at myself for not jumping in,” Knapp said. “…I wasn’t a hero.”
Authorities did not identify the swimmers.
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“Police departments along the Lake Michigan shoreline in Illinois and Wisconsin have been advised to monitor their beaches for the missing swimmer,” the city said.