A 15-year-old girl who had been rescued from Lake Michigan at Carre-Hogle Park in Racine, succumbed to her injuries and passed away Friday afternoon, as reported the Racine County Sheriff's Office. The teenage girl was originally found in critical condition the evening of July 31, after authorities responded to a 911 call at around 6:20 p.m. The call disclosed that the girl was seen struggling in the water and eventually going under, as stated by authorities, according to JSOnline.
Upon their arrival, rescue crews discovered the teenager approximately 20 feet from shore, not breathing, in choppy water with conditions deemed very poor. Wind speeds were noted to be sopersistently strong at 20-25 mph, producing three-foot waves and visible rip currents in the lagoon area. Paramedics managed to restore a pulse at the scene, and the girl was then taken to a Milwaukee-area hospital in critical condition, as mentioned in a WISN article.
Racine city officials have since clarified that the park where the tragedy occurred is not recognized as a general swimming area, unlike locations such as North Beach. The hazards present at Carre-Hogle Park were seemingly underestimated, leading to a situation which resulted in desperate rescue efforts amid the lake's treacherous rip currents.
In follow-up comments on Saturday, the Racine Sheriff's Office informed FOX6 News that the girl had indeed passed away on the day she was rescued. While the circumstances are still being analyzed, the Sheriff's Office indicated that there was no evidence of foul play but rather that the strong currents had to overpower the swimmers.
