(Photo by BC, for Kenosha County Eye)
KENOSHA, Wis. — A man is presumed dead after witnesses reported seeing him jump into Lake Michigan from a ladder along the North Pier in the Kenosha Harbor Thursday afternoon, triggering a massive multi-agency water rescue that quickly transitioned into a recovery operation.
Kenosha police were dispatched to the North Pier at 2:09 p.m. after a caller reported seeing a man wearing a shirt and white-and-black shorts jump into the water and never resurface.
(Photo by BC, for Kenosha County Eye)
As officers responded, dispatchers notified the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Coast Guard while Kenosha Fire Department began assembling an extensive water rescue response.
Witnesses directed officers to a yellow ladder just west of the flags near the Kenosha Public Museum, close to the Kenosha Yacht Club, where they said the man entered the water. Officers clarified over the radio that the man did not jump from the lighthouse or from the pier itself.
(Photo by BC, for Kenosha County Eye)
One witness told officers he had been smoking a cigarette nearby and never saw the man resurface. Officers searching the shoreline also reported that nearby ladders still had cobwebs and were dry, indicating the man had not climbed out of the harbor using them.
The Kenosha Fire Department rapidly expanded the response by activating Water Rescue Box 53-02, bringing in mutual aid from departments across southeastern Wisconsin and northern Illinois. The countywide activation requested additional boats, dive teams, chief officers, and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources personnel.
(Photo by BC, for Kenosha County Eye)
Radio traffic indicates Battalion 1 requested dive equipment before calling for additional MABAS dive teams, airboats, sonar resources, and other specialized assets as the search grew.
The operation ultimately involved the Kenosha Fire Department, Kenosha Police Department, Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Coast Guard, Racine Fire Department dive team, South Shore Fire Department, Town of Burlington Fire Department, Paris Fire Department, Winthrop Harbor Fire Department, and numerous other mutual-aid agencies.
(Photo by BC, for Kenosha County Eye)
Police also launched drones to assist with the search while coordinating flight altitudes with the fire department’s drone operators. Officers used jet skis to search along the breakwall and shoreline, closed portions of the North Pier to the public, and began seeking surveillance footage from nearby businesses, including the Kenosha Yacht Club and the Kenosha History Center.
According to scanner traffic, a drone later identified a possible target in the water, prompting command to request the Interdivisional Division 4 Sonar Team. As the afternoon wore on, divers were pulled from the water and the operation transitioned from an active rescue to a sonar search.
(Photo by BC, for Kenosha County Eye)
At approximately 3:29 p.m., incident commanders declared the mission a recovery operation, indicating rescuers no longer believed the victim could be saved. Sheriff’s Office marine units continued operating on the water as sonar teams and remaining responders searched the harbor.
As of Thursday afternoon, authorities had not publicly identified the missing man or announced whether his body had been recovered.
(Photo by BC, for Kenosha County Eye)
This is an active and developing incident. Kenosha County Eye will continue to provide updates as additional information becomes available.
(Photo by BC, for Kenosha County Eye)
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3 Responses
I’m downtown by the harbor and there’s a blue and yellow helicopter just circling and circling What is it for? Is it for the man that jumped in?
Oh a helicopter circling. Hmmm maybe helping look!!
Nice work Kevin .. As always