Emergency crews search Lake Michigan for 2 Chicago-area men who went missing while boating in Indiana waters

HAMMOND, Ind. – Rescue workers searched for two men from suburban Chicago on Lake Michigan Saturday, more than a day after they disappeared as a large group of people traveled by boat along the shore in northwest Indiana, authorities said.

Strong winds and high waves created “very bad conditions” on the lake on Saturday and hampered search efforts, said Indiana State Conservation Commissioner Alex Neel.

He said 12 people were on the boat off Hammond, Indiana, on Friday afternoon when a man jumped into the lake to swim but ran into trouble, prompting a second man to come to his aid but also struggled in the water.

A third man then put on a life jacket and entered the lake to help his two companions, but he too began to stagger before strong winds blew him and the other two men away from the boat, Neel said.

The nine other people on the boat didn’t know how to steer the boat, he said. They called 911 and also fired flares. All nine were later rescued by conservation officers who found the boat three miles off the coast of Whiting, Indiana, and towed it back to shore, Neel said.

Indiana State Conservation Officers began searching for the three missing people at around 2:40 p.m. on Friday. Two hours later, the U.S. Coast Guard found the man wearing a life jacket in the lake. He was treated at a hospital and released.

One of the two missing men is from the community of Elk Grove Village in northern Illinois, the other man is from the nearby village of Mount Prospect, Neel said.