Search Under Way After Man Falls Off Ice Shelf At Indiana Dunes National Park, Lands In Lake Michigan

PORTAGE, Ind. (CBS) — Rescue crews will continue the search Tuesday morning after a man fell off an ice shelf at Indiana Dunes National Park and ended up in Lake Michigan Monday night.

It has been over 12 hours since the man was last seen.

At 5:30 p.m., first responders were called to West Beach at the national park after learning that five people had gotten onto shelf ice along the shoreline – only for the ice to track. The group retreated to shore, except for one person who fell in the water, according to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.

The others tried to reach their friend, but large waves and unstable ice undermined that effort.

(Credit: Julie Olsted)

The search for the missing person continued Monday night. Indiana conservation officers, along with fire crews from Portage, Porter, and Ogden Dunes; the Lake County, Indiana Sheriff’s Department; Indiana Dunes National Park Rangers; and the U.S. Coast Guard were all involved.

“A pretty chaotic rescue scene, but it’s a very difficult rescue scene in terms of the wave action and the ice. I mean even now, there’s ice chunks in the water that are very large, that are floating around and getting battered by the waves,” said Indiana Conservation Officer Nicole Baumann.

The waves in the area amounted to 3 to 5 feet Monday night.

Conservation officers reminded people that ice shelves are dangerous and everyone should stay off of them.

Source: ChicagoCBS