Wisconsin man reported missing in Chicago identified as body found in Lake Michigan

Lake County authorities have identified a Waukesha, Wisconsin man as one of the two bodies recovered Sunday from Lake Michigan by the U.S. Coast Guard.

Martin Mendoza, 49, had been reported missing to Chicago police after he was last seen swimming in the lake at 3:47 p.m. Aug. 8 from a boat near the 63rd Street Harbor, according to the Lake County coroner's office.

Preliminary autopsy results indicate Mendoza's death is consistent with drowning, the coroner's office reported. Toxicology results are pending.

The Lake County sheriff's office is seeking the public's help identifying the second body. The person is described as a Black woman between the ages of 18 and 40, standing about 5 feet, 4 inches tall, and weighing 150 to 170 pounds. The woman's fingernails and toenails were painted and she was wearing a summer dress, according to the sheriff's office.

Based on preliminary information, it appears the body was in the water for no more than two weeks, officials said.

Sheriff's Lt. Christopher Covelli asked that anyone who might know the identity of the woman to call investigators at (847) 377-4000.

Both bodies were discovered within a two-hour period Sunday, authorities said. At about 3 p.m., a fisherman spotted the body of the woman floating in the water three miles southeast of Waukegan Harbor. About 90 minutes later, Coast Guard members conducting a training exercise in a helicopter spotted Mendoza's body approximately three miles east of the Lake Forest shoreline.