A 26-year-old man was found dead after he went swimming with friends in Lake Michigan at the Illinois Beach State Park near Zion and never resurfaced Saturday evening.
The Beach Park Fire Department, Zion Fire Department and Lake County Sheriff’s Office responded around 8:10 p.m. Saturday to the Illinois Beach State Park, 1 Lake Front Drive in unincorporated Zion, for a report of a water rescue.
Beach Park Fire Department Lt. Pablo Ramirez said firefighters and paramedics arrived and began working to determine a last-seen point for the 26-year-old man in distress.
Divers from the Beach Park and Zion fire departments entered the water and commenced a surface scan at the last seen point, Ramirez said.
The Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) was activated to the box alarm level, bringing fire departments from throughout Lake and McHenry counties to the scene with sonar, divers and boats.
The missing swimmer was located and removed by rescue divers around 10 p.m.
He was transported by ambulance to Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan where he was pronounced dead, according to Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli.
Covelli said the sheriff’s office also assisted in the search and had launched their Lake Michigan boat when they received the call.
“We searched the water for two hours with local fire agencies and Illinois Conservation Police,” Covelli said.
Covelli said the 26-year-old man was approximately 30 feet from the shore when he was located just after 10 p.m.
A preliminary investigation shows the man, along with his two friends — another 26-year-old man and a 28-year-old man — were swimming from the shore to a rock wall.
The victim was unable to make it to the wall, went under the water and never made it back to shore.
The Lake County Coroner’s Office said the victim is not from the area and possibly resides out of state.
An autopsy will be performed Monday morning and his identity is being withheld until his family has been notified.
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources Police are handling the investigation.