Friends tried rescuing man who fell into Lake Michigan. ‘Unfortunately they lost him’

Update, April 28: The body of Bryce Dunfee, the 22-year-old who went missing in Lake Michigan, has been found three months after he was last seen, WTHR reported. He was found at West Beach, less than a mile from where he vanished.

Original story, Feb. 22

A group of five friends was walking along the shelf ice of Lake Michigan when that ice began cracking, officials say.

That’s when a 22-year-old man from Indiana fell into the icy lake at Indiana Dunes National Park at about 5:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 21, WMAQ reported.

“There was a big piece that gave way and he fell into the lake,” Nicole Baumann with Indiana Department of Natural Resources told WLS. She says his friends tried to rescue him, “but unfortunately they lost him.”

As the group was trying to save their friend, 3- to 5-foot waves were pounding the shelf ice, Baumann told The Times of Northwest Indiana.

“They had a hold of him and were able to bring him up, but the conditions were too treacherous,” she said. The friends called 911 and returned from the shelf ice.

Portage Fire Department was one of several agencies that responded to the call for help after the man fell off “dangerous shelf ice.”

“A search was conducted but due to heavy waves and the size of the shelf, it could only be done by air conducted by Lake County Sheriffs helicopter,” Portage Fire Department Chief Randy Wilkening told The Times of Northwest Indiana. “Nothing was located and the search was suspended for the night. It will continue in the morning when hopefully waves will be down.”

Authorities returned to the lake Tuesday morning, WMAQ reported.

The man is presumed to be dead, The Times of Northwest Indiana reported, and the rescue search has transitioned to a recovery effort.

Shelf ice, which is known to form along Lake Michigan during cold weather, is not actually solid.

“Don’t be fooled,” officials say, as shelf ice is filled with air pockets.

Indiana Dunes National Park says “a person applying even a small amount of weight on the ice can easily fall through and into frigid water that can quickly kill.”

Indiana Dunes National Park is in northwest Indiana along Lake Michigan.

This story was originally published February 22, 2022 at 2:00 PM with the headline "Friends tried rescuing man who fell into Lake Michigan. ‘Unfortunately they lost him’."