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15-year-old girl pulled out of Lake Michigan in Racine dies Friday afternoon

From JSOnline:

Mia Thurow

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

A 15-year-old girl who was pulled from Lake Michigan in Racine on Thursday night died Friday afternoon, the Racine County Sheriff's Office said.

The incident took place July 31 around 6:20 p.m., roughly 30 feet from shore at Carre-Hogle Park.

A 911 call initially reported the girl was struggling, and later that she could no longer be seen and was believed to have gone under water, the sheriff's office said.

The sheriff's office said 20 to 25 mph winds produced 3-foot waves and visible rip currents in the park's lagoon area, causing very poor water conditions.

Within 15 minutes of the original 911 call, authorities found the girl under water roughly 20 feet from shore. She was not breathing when pulled from the water, so life-saving measures were taken.

The girl regained a pulse and was taken to a Milwaukee-area hospital in critical condition Thursday evening before she died Friday afternoon.

Contact Mia Thurow at mthurow@gannett.com.

From: https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2025/08/02/15-year-old-girl-pulled-from-lake-michigan-dies-friday-afternoon/85488283007/

Racine girl in critical condition after nearly drowning in Lake Michigan

From JSOnline:

Drake Bentley

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

A 15-year-old Racine girl is in critical condition at a local hospital after nearly drowning in Lake Michigan.

The Racine County Sheriff's Office said the incident took place July 31 around 6:20 p.m. about 30 feet from shore at Carre-Hogle Park, located at 16th Street and Wisconsin Avenue.

The 911 call initially reported the girl was having trouble and then later that the girl could no longer be seen and was presumed to have gone under water, the sheriff's office said.

The conditions of the water were very poor. The sheriff's office said 20 to 25 mph sustained winds were producing 3-foot waves in the lagoon area, with visible rip currents.

Within less than 15 minutes from the time of the call, authorities found the girl under water about 20 feet from shore, according to the sheriff's office.

The girl was not breathing when she was pulled from the water so life-saving measures were initiated. The girl regained a pulse and was transferred to a Milwaukee-area hospital in critical condition.

The sheriff's office said an investigation revealed a group of young people were quickly overwhelmed by the current. Another girl was briefly pulled under water by the "sheer panic" of 15-year-old, authorities said.

This story was updated because an earlier version included an inaccurate headline.

From: https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2025/07/31/racine-girl-in-critical-condition-after-drowning-in-lake-michigan/85469521007/

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Dangerous currents in Great Lakes claim lives every summer. Here's what you need to know about them.

From JSOnline:

Siddhant Pusdekar

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Wednesday night, Mohammad Hassan, a 17 year old Oak Creek Resident, drowned at Bender Park Beach. What should have been a pleasant evening out on the beach ended in tragedy.

Fatal drownings like the one that occurred yesterday are especially common in the summer. A spate of them occurred in 2021 when there were a shortage of lifeguards. Closed in 2020 after several fatalities, McKinley beach will reopen this year. Despite the added safety measures, the redesigned McKinley beach may not have many life guards this summer.

Since 2016, there have been an average of about 25-30 fatalities on the Great Lakes due to dangerous currents, according to Dave Benjamin, co-founder and executive director of Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project.

Had Hassan checked the National Weather Services that night, he would have see a moderate swim risk warning. Nothing too concerning.

But that is when most deaths occur, Benjamin said, because the waters may appear safe.

Rip currents can be deadly and can catch people unaware. Here's what you need to know about them.

What are the dangerous currents on Lake Michigan?

Rip currents are most likely when the wind is blowing towards the shore and the waves appear chaotic.

When heavy winds blow waves toward the shore, the water needs to find a way back out. So it forms a fast flowing channel out and away from the shore. That is a rip current, JJ Wood a meteorologist with the National Weather Service explained.

There are some misconceptions about rip currents. People often call them rip tides, which gives the impression that they have something to do with tides. But they can occur even when there are no tides.

Another dangerous current to be wary of is a structural current. When the wind blows parallel to the shore, the current can take swimmers towards a jetty, or pier, where the water whirlpools around the structure before pushing away from the shore

Both types of currents can push you away from the shore very quickly.

What to do before you go to the beach

The National Weather Service tracks the wind and the waves for large areas of water and puts out a general beach hazard statement. But on the night of the June 27, the hazard level for the Milwaukee area was only moderate.

That is why Benjamin says the National Weather Service levels are not the best bet, because conditions at specific beaches can vary a lot. "The only way that you can get an accurate assessment of your local beach conditions is if you have lifeguards there," he said.

Life guards will put up flags of different colors depending on the safety level at the beach. Green for waves less that two feet, yellow for waves between two and four feet and red for waves above four feet. If your local beach has a life guard, the surest way to know the safety of the waters is to check those flags.

But many beaches do not have active life guards, updated beach hazard signage or public rescue equipment, Benjamin said. Even if a beach has active life guards they may not always be around.

In his work educating the public on water safety he recommends that "it's best to swim at a lifeguarded beach during lifeguard hours, otherwise your risk goes up exponentially."

What to do if you find yourself in a rip current

Swimming against a rip current can be very hard and the current can easily pull you away from the shore. What can you do if you get caught in a rip current?

It is also important to know your swimming ability. Even though a lot of people know how to swim, they may not best practices for swimming safety.

Instinctively you may want to swim back to shore, or you may have heard that you should swim parallel to the shore. But according to Benjamin, those solutions will only deplete your energy.

A 2021 video put out by the Great Lakes Surf Rescue project recommends a "flip, float and follow" strategy. That means getting on your back and floating with the current, while trying to regulate your breathing. Benjamin said this will help to reduce panic and conserve your energy before you swim parallel to the shore and find your way back or call for help.

From: https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/milwaukee/2024/06/28/what-to-know-about-dangerous-rip-currents-in-lake-michigan/74238526007/

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Racine drowning of man who saved kids tragic, preventable, experts say

From Fox6Now:

RACINE, Wis. - Tragic but preventable is how a water safety expert described the death of a man Sunday, Aug. 22, who drowned after saving two children from Lake Michigan. 

Those two young children were relatives of 40-year-old Thomas Walker, so you could imagine the rush of emotions in seeing loved ones struggling in the lake. Still, the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project says most people are not strong enough swimmers to do this, and if you decide to go in, you have to bring something that floats.

Along Amy Seguin's favorite place to go on a summer day in Wisconsin are warnings of just how serious and dangerous Lake Michigan can be.

"You think you're a really great swimmer, but you're no match for Lake Michigan sometimes," said Seguin.

On Sunday, North Beach became the scene of another water rescue. The Racine County Sheriff's Office said Walker, 40, of Missouri, went into the lake when he saw his young relatives struggling near the pier at Racine's North Beach. Walker helped rescue the children but didn't emerge. He was found an hour later, and he died at a hospital.

"Once the immediate task, the rescue, is completed, that adrenaline that was pumping now dives off pretty quick, and the person just has a heavy onset of exhaustion," said Dave Benjamin, executive director of the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project, a nonprofit dedicated to water safety.

Benjamin said most people, despite their instincts, should run for help in this situation.

"A person should not be entering the water if they don't have lifeguard training, the current physical fitness of a lifeguard, or lifeguard rescue equipment," said Benjamin.

And if they choose to enter the water…

"They should take something with them that floats because they will likely need it themselves, whether they make contact with the victim or not," said Benjamin.

North Beach does have lifeguards from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day, flags to alert of water conditions and life preservers located across the beach. The National Weather Service had issued a warning for dangerous lake conditions.

Racine County Sheriff Christopher Schamling credited Walker for his heroic actions but said he wants to prevent this from happening again.

From: https://www.fox6now.com/news/racine-drowning-of-man-who-saved-kids-tragic-preventable-experts-say

Missouri man drowns at North Beach in Racine

From TMJ4:

Photo by: North Beach in Racine (photo courtesy of Racine County Sheriff's Office Facebook)

By: TMJ4 Web Staff

Posted at 9:27 PM, Aug 22, 2021

 

and last updated 9:28 PM, Aug 22, 2021

RACINE — The Racine County Sheriff's Office (RCSO) was dispatched to North Beach on Sunday just after 3 p.m. after an individual was unaccounted for after going into Lake Michigan.

According to the RCSO, two male children were in the water just north of the North Pier when they began to show signs of distress. An adult male relative entered the water to save the children and assisted in their rescue, but he did not emerge from the water.

Already being in that area with a boat, the RCSO immediately began searching for the man. At approximately 4:01 p.m., the adult male was rescued from the water and emergency lifesaving efforts were administered. The male was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The Sheriff’s Office has been informed that all the involved parties are from the State of Missouri. The victim is described as a 40-year-old white male, whose name is being withheld until notification can be made to his entire family.

The Sheriff’s Office was aware that the US National Weather Service had issued a warning of hazardous water conditions along Lake Michigan, including the beaches of Racine County, from the early morning hours of today’s date through 7:00 p.m. The warning included the possibility of life-threatening waves up to five feet in height and dangerous currents.

“The Sheriff’s Office commends the heroic actions of the man who assisted in saving the lives of these two young children," Sheriff Schmaling said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with him, his family and his loved ones. We also encourage people to take the time to investigate current lake conditions before entering Lake Michigan and take all necessary precautions. This, like the other unfortunate drownings this summer, are tragic, incredibly sad and preventable.”

From: https://www.tmj4.com/news/local-news/adult-male-drowns-at-north-beach-in-racine