Crews recover body of missing teen swimmer after days-long search

ZION, Ill. (WGN) – Authorities have recovered the body of a teen boy who disappeared while swimming in Lake Michigan at Illinois Beach State Park on Tuesday afternoon.

Officials from the Lake County Coroner’s Office said the teen’s body was recovered around 7:30 a.m. Friday morning in the general area of the north beach.

The coroner has since identified the victim as 14-year-old Kyle Williams, a Milwaukee, Wisconsin, resident who was preparing to enter his freshman year of high school.

According to the coroner, an autopsy indicated that Williams’ death was consistent with drowning.

An initial report by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office indicated that Williams went underwater Tuesday afternoon and did not resurface.

Officials said the teen was swept away after he was hit by a wave while standing in water about waist or thigh-high.

Following his disappearance, crews began an exhaustive search that lasted several days, however, by Wednesday afternoon, the search effort had become a recovery mission.

Officials told WGN-TV that at least 15 different departments from both Illinois and Wisconsin responded to the scene when the original call for help was made.

The drowning is the first at Beach Park this summer.

“Our sympathy goes out to the family and friends of the victim. This is a deeply saddening event that also bothers the rescuers involved. We are all doing what we can to bring this young man back to his family,” a spokesperson for the Beach Park Fire Department said in a release on Thursday.

In a news release sent out Saturday morning, the coroner’s office warned the public about the dangers of swimming in Lake Michigan.

“We are not trying to scare the public—we are trying to save lives. It only takes a few seconds for a fun day to turn into a tragedy.” Personal flotation devices should be always used when in any body of water,” Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek said.

According to the coroner’s office, an investigation into the incident is ongoing.