An autopsy performed Saturday confirmed the drowning of a 12-year-old boy who disappeared beneath the waves of Lake Michigan just offshore of a Rogers Park neighborhood beach.
The boy entered the lake from Jarvis Beach near the 1200 block of West Jarvis Avenue just after 6 p.m. Wednesday, but was underwater for an “extended amount of time” before he was pulled ashore, according to Chicago police.
The child, Fred Elouga, also of Rogers Park, was rushed to Lurie Children’s Hospital in critical condition before he was pronounced dead the following afternoon, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. The autopsy determined the boy died from drowning in a death that was ruled accidental.
As of Tuesday, 24 people had drowned in Lake Michigan this year, according to the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project, which monitors drowning deaths on the Great Lakes. Throughout the summer, National Weather Service and city park officials have monitored rip currents to alert swimmers when to avoid the water.
Rip currents are strong shoreline water currents that flows outward toward deeper water and can overwhelm even experienced swimmers.
