Lake Michigan’s choppy water conditions were still deemed too dangerous Tuesday afternoon to resume the search for a teen boy presumed to have drowned near the Michigan City Lighthouse pier Monday evening.
The victim is believed to be a 13-year-old boy from Michigan City, said Michigan City Fire Chief Barrett Taylor.
Several agencies responded to the initial report of a boy in red shorts disappearing under the waves, east of the pier and south of the lighthouse at 5:43 p.m.
Three Michigan City firefighters who are dive team members had to be treated for injuries at Franciscan Health Michigan City. Taylor said he expects they will report for their regular shift on Thursday.
An Indiana Department of Natural Resources officer was also treated at the scene for minor injuries, Taylor said.
“With the swells and the water conditions, it essentially was impossible,” said Taylor, who was out on a boat for about two hours Monday night searching for the boy.
When the boy had disappeared, the National Weather Service had in effect a Beach Hazard Statement and a Small Craft Advisory due to strong winds, waves and dangerous rip currents.
Taylor said there were no lifeguards on duty then, and they usually aren’t in the area by the pier anyway.
Water conditions Tuesday morning weren’t much better.
“I do know the weather conditions are deteriorating again today,” said Alex Neel, a conservation officer with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
After what happened Monday night, the resumption of the search will depend on the water conditions improving, Neel said.
Stephen Westphal, 35, who lives outside Michigan City, said he walks the Washington Park boardwalk twice a day and he witnessed the initial response Monday evening. He said the search concentrated at the elbow of the pier breakwall, about 200 to 300 feet from the shore.
Michigan City Police officers were first on the scene, followed by the fire department. Westphal said a fire truck ladder was extended over the water to help get an aerial view for the search.
Charlie Wilson, 44, of Michigan City, is an experienced diver who came on his own to help with the search.
Wilson said it was a “dangerous situation” because the waves were pushing the divers into the rocks.
“It gets real bad from the rip currents and whatnot,” Wilson said.
There have been 23 drownings on the Great Lakes and 12 on Lake Michigan so far this year, not counting the one from Monday, said David Benjamin, executive director of the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project.
North winds on Monday caused the waves to run parallel with the Lake Michigan shoreline, Benjamin, a Homewood native, said.
“The water was turbulent like a washing machine,” Benjamin said, noting that he reviewed video from beach cameras at the scene.
Benjamin said that incidents like this point out the need for water safety education. He said many drownings occur because people are confident in their swimming ability, but then face a situation they cannot handle.
Alan McGee, 80, of Portage, was walking along the Washington Park boardwalk on the bright, sunny Tuesday morning.
McGee recounted an incident when he nearly lost his life at the age of 10 when he got caught in a rip current at the nearby Long Beach.
“If I had panicked, I would have been gone,” McGee said. “If you let your guard down, this lake will get you.”
Jim Woods is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
