A 17-year-old boy has died after he drowned while swimming with friends in Lake Michigan in Waukegan and was rescued by fire department divers Monday evening, authorities said.
The Waukegan Fire Department and Waukegan Police Department responded around 5:30 p.m. Monday to the Waukegan North Harbor, 199 East Madison Street in Waukegan, for a report of a water rescue.
Waukegan Fire Department Battalion Chief Todd Zupec said 911 dispatchers reported that a subject was under the water in the harbor channel area.
Bystanders reported that a person went missing in Lake Michigan and fire crews began a search effort.
Emergency crews arrived at the Waukegan Harbor and at the Waukegan Municipal Beach.
Zupec said friends of the victim were located and reported they had been swimming in the channel and one of their friends did not make it out of the water. The friends then called 911 for help.
The Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) was activated to the box alarm level, prompting the response of boats, divers and sonar equipment from fire departments throughout the county but was canceled a short time later.
The U.S. Coast Guard also responded to aid in the search.
Bill Barron, who said he had been in the area of the Waukegan Harbor for most of the day, heard ambulances, fire trucks and police cars responding to the area.
Zupec said a rescue boat with divers was deployed to the channel and the area of the last seen point.
The fire department launched a boat to the south rocks and returned to the dock just after 6:20 p.m., Barron said.
Zupec said divers were deployed and were able to find the teenage male victim within minutes of searching along the breakwall near the bottom.
Firefighters brought him back to the Waukegan North Harbor.
Barron said firefighters and paramedics were actively performing CPR on the victim, described as a white male, and placed him onto a stretcher.
He was wearing shorts but no shirt or shoes when he was pulled from the water.
The unresponsive victim was loaded into an awaiting ambulance, which remained on the scene for 10-15 minutes, Barron said.
The ambulance transported the victim to Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan in critical condition.
Lake County Chief Deputy Coroner Steve Newton said the victim, a 17-year-old boy, was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the hospital.
Zupec said no other injuries were reported at the scene.
“The Waukegan Fire Department would like to remind residents to not swim in areas that are not designated for swimming. Dangerous currents exist around the piers and rock walls even during calm conditions. Please do not swim during dangerous weather or outside protected areas,” Zupec said.
The teen’s identity is being temporarily withheld. The Lake County Coroner’s Office responded to the hospital and took possession of the victim for an autopsy, which will be conducted on Tuesday morning.