Update: Lake search for missing Carol Stream woman suspended

A search in Lake Michigan for a 20-year-old Carol Stream woman was temporarily suspended Saturday afternoon due to choppy lake conditions, authorities said.

Crews have been looking for Chase Froese since she went missing at 6:50 p.m. Friday off the coast of Porter Beach in Indiana Dunes State Park.

Indiana Department of Natural Resources officials say Froese and two female friends were swimming when they began to struggle in the water. Good Samaritans were able to rescue two of the women, but Froese disappeared from sight.

A subsequent search by water, land and air was suspended late Friday night but resumed at sunrise. After noon, authorities announced they were again suspending the search by lake as conditions deteriorated. They said they would continue their search when conditions became suitable for boat and sonar equipment.

Chase Froese's parents, Greg and Beth, arrived to Porter Beach early Saturday morning during the search for their daughter.

"The last 14 hours have been the hardest that we have faced as a husband and wife and as a family," Greg Froese told reporters. "We are hoping that Chase will be found today. We know that God is in control, and we are fully trusting in Him. We have been experiencing his presence in peace during these last 14 hours.

"We know Chase is in his hands and is safely home."

Froese is a 2013 graduate of Wheaton Academy, a Christian high school in West Chicago.

Wheaton Academy posted on Twitter on Saturday afternoon a request to "join the WA community in praying that God's peace be with the Froese family and for Chase, class of 2013, in this difficult time."

According to Froese's Facebook page, she works as a Web production assistant at Calvin College, a Christian liberal arts school in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She is a member of Facebook groups called "International Development Studies" and "Calvin College Students for Life."

The college's website lists Froese as a member of the class of 2017 and says during the 2014-15 school year, she was a cultural discerner in the Schultze-Eldersveld residence hall community.

Before the search for Froese was suspended Saturday afternoon, Indiana Conservation officers did a boat-based surface search, while the U.S. Coast Guard searched by air. Crews also used a remote operated underwater vehicle with sonar and video capabilities. The Porter Fire Department Dive Rescue team also assisted in the search.

Porter Beach in Indiana Dunes State Park is about 80 miles southeast of Carol Stream.