More than a week after his disappearance, local authorities continue a search and recovery mission for a local resident who apparently fell off his sailboat while out on Lake Michigan.
On Oct. 13, a Lake Forest man was reported missing by his family after he failed to return to Lake Forest Beach earlier that afternoon. The family told officials he had gone out on the lake on a 15-foot catamaran and was not wearing a personal flotation device.
While the sailboat was found later that day and the individual’s cell phone could be heard near Glencoe Beach, there have yet to be any signs of the boater, officials said.
“It is truly kind of a waiting game for us now as we really don’t have much in terms of a last-seen point,” Fire Department Chief Peter Siebert said in an interview. “The lake is so darn big there is nothing to do but get out there and do a search and see what we can find.”
Siebert said he personally has been going to out to the lake to search along with other members of his department. Other area departments as far south as Evanston are also participating.
“We have asked our neighboring agencies to notify us if the see or find anything,” he said.
Yet with more than a week passed since his disappearance, Siebert did not believe he would be found alive at this point.
“We are going to go with the assumption that he was in the water and did not make it out,” he said.
Siebert noted the search would continue for at least another week.
“We will re-evaluate as time goes by,” he said.
Siebert noted at the incident waves were reaching as high as eight to ten feet on Lake Michigan.
“It’s dangerous for any boat in that type of condition,” Siebert said.
Siebert advocated boaters should check to see for any small craft advisories before heading out into the water and boaters should always wear a flotation device.
“That’s the only thing that will give you a chance out there,” he said.
Daniel I. Dorfman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.