13-year-old drowns in Lake Michigan

A 13-year-old Waukegan boy drowned in Lake Michigan after going swimming with friends Tuesday night, officials said.

Johnny Garcia of Waukegan was swimming with two friends around 5 p.m. when the three tried to retrive a ball that had drifted away from shore, said Sgt. Christopher Thompson of the Lake County Sheriffs Office.

As they headed out, the current started to pull them further into Lake Michigan, Thompson said. The two, unidentified 16-year-olds were able to swim back. Garcia could not, Thompson said.

Garcia went under water about 15 feet from the pier and 480 feet from a shoreline and was discovered by Waukegan Rescue approximately 45 minutes after submerging.

Rescue workers performed CPR on Garcia and took him by ambulance to Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan where he was later pronounced dead, Waukegan Fire Department battallion chief David Roberts said.

The other two boys were taken to the hospital as a precaution, officials said.

"We are deeply saddened for the Garcia family," said Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran. "I cannot stress enough how important it is for parents to talk to their children about the dangers of swimming in Lake Michigan without proper supervision and safety gear."

The area where the boys were swimming - near the old Johnson Motors Pier - was not an authorized swimming area or an area surveyed by lifeguards, officials said. There was also a strong current, nearly 5-foot swells and a lake temperature of around 65 degrees, officials said.

A Coast Guard helicopter also assisted in the search.