Boater missing after catamaran found empty on Lake Michigan Sunday

Rescuers are continuing to search for a boater missing in Lake Michigan near Lake Forest.

Lake Forest Fire Department officials were notified by family members at about 2:45 p.m. Sunday afternoon that a boater had failed to show up at the boat launch at 601 Forest Park Road at 2 p.m. as expected.

The fire department launched a rescue boat and a drone in an effort to locate the missing 15-foot catamaran-style sailboat, ultimately. The drone spotted the vessel, but no one was aboard.

A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter was also deployed along with rescue boats from neighboring departments in Wilmette and Evanston when family members reported receiving a ping from the missing sailor’s mobile phone near Glencoe Beach.

Family members told authorities the boater was not wearing a life jacket.

The water search was halted at about 5:30 p.m., though the Coast Guard continued to search by air into the evening.