Man Sought in Lake Search Found Safe

The man who was seen in waist-deep water near ice that had broken apart Tuesday morning at a north suburban beach was home safe Wednesday.

The report, from a passerby, that a man and a dog were in the water off Sunrise Beach in Lake Bluff Tuesday morning prompted a five-hour rescue effort that included a response from several agencies using divers, boats and two types of Sonar to search the water An aerial search was conducted by the U.S. Coast Guard.

Lake Bluff's village emergency dispatch office got a call at 7:21 a.m. Tuesday and police officers responded to the scene, Asst. Village Administrator Ryan Waller said.

A passerby had seen a man with a dog in waist-deep water, Waller said. When police arrived, there was no man or dog found, Waller said. Firefighters conducted a sweeping search of the area, described by Waller as about the length of two football fields long and four football fields wide.

The Lake Bluff Fire Department requested assistance, through the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System, to conduct a water search and rescue operation. Several agencies assisted with divers, boats and Sonar he said.

The search was called off at 12:15 p.m.

Afterward the Lake Bluff police department asked area residents to alert them if there had been any missing persons from their homes or if anyone knew who might have been the man seen in the water.

The police department "received word this morning that the [man] was home safe and sound," Waller said. The person who the passerby had seen in the water "was able to get out of the water on their own."

"It's a positive outcome and everybody's safe and sound," he said. He added that the village would be issuing an alert later in the day reminding residents of the dangers that are inherent in areas that had been frozen, once temperatures start to rise.