A walker called 911 and prompted a rescue response after a windsurfer was spotted in distress on Lake Michigan near the Illinois Beach State Park in Zion Wednesday.
The Beach Park Fire Department and Zion Fire Rescue Department responded around 11:50 a.m. Wednesday to the Illinois Beach State Park, 1 Lake Front Drive in unincorporated Zion, for a report of a water rescue.
A person walking along a path called 911 to report they saw someone in distress on Lake Michigan, according to Zion Fire Rescue Department Battalion Chief Rocco Campanella.
The witness described where the windsurfer was to the fire responders.
A Zion Police Department drone was requested to the scene along with the Waukegan and Winthrop Harbor fire departments to assist in the search.
Campanella said the drone located the victim approximately a mile south of the Illinois Beach State Park.
The adult male, who is a Chicago resident, had just got back to shore after self-rescuing himself from the water.
Fire crews met with him and found he was uninjured, Campanella said. They learned he was windsurfing on the water when his sail came off and went into the water.
The current allowed the man, who was approximately a quarter-mile out in the water, to be brought to shore.