ROOT COUNTY, Wisconsin. – A 60-year-old Chicago man died after a boating incident on Lake Michigan near Racine on Thursday, May 12. The family said he was moving his boat from the Chicago area to Racine for the summer.
The Racine County Communications Center received a 911 call regarding a sailboat that may have crashed into a sandbar near the Wind Point Lighthouse around 4:45 p.m.
Initial reports indicated the engine was running and no one was on the boat.
Responding deputies located the boat about 200 yards from shore, unoccupied. Racine County Sheriff Boat-1 launched a search and was assisted by the US Coast Guard with its rescue helicopter.
After an extensive three-hour search, the 60-year-old Chicago man was located nearly two miles from shore, south of Myers Park. He was unconscious and wearing his personal flotation device.
Resuscitation efforts were initiated while he was carried ashore. The Racine Fire Department continued rescue measures once ashore where he was transported to a local hospital.
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The man could not be revived. The family said he was last spoken to by phone around 2 p.m. – when he was moving his boat from the Chicago area to Racine for the summer.
The Racine County Sheriff’s Office investigation is ongoing and no foul play is suspected.
