PORTAGE, Ind. — An Indianapolis man is missing and presumed dead after falling into Lake Michigan while he and a group of friends risked walking onto an ice shelf at Indiana Dunes National Park on Monday.
Shelf ice is extremely dangerous because it is full of air pockets and weak spots, increasing one’s chances of falling in with each step, WTHR reported.
Indiana Department of Natural Resources Public Information Officer Nicole Baumann told The Times of Northwest Indiana that five people were walking on shelf ice along the shoreline when it began to crack. Although the group retreated to the shore, one member of the party fell into the water, where large waves and unstable ice prevented his rescue.
“They had come out to see the beach and were walking on the shelf ice. The shelf ice is elevated. They had to climb up a little hill onto the snow. A little piece of the shelf ice broke off and he tripped and fell into the lake,” Baumann said.
Do not risk your life! Stay on the beach and please keep off the shelf ice. As winter temperatures continually drop,...
Posted by Indiana Dunes National Park on Monday, January 24, 2022
“The lake conditions are such that there are 3- to 5-foot waves and big chunks of ice. The waves are just pounding that shelf ice. They had a hold of him and were able to bring him up, but the conditions were too treacherous,” she added.
The man’s identity is being withheld pending notification of his family, and Baumann confirmed to WTHR that it’s unlikely he survived the water’s near-freezing temperatures because hypothermia would have set in within minutes.
“We have wrapped up the rescue and are moving on to a recovery. It’s just unfortunate,” she told The Times of Northwest Indiana.
- The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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