Overview
- Witnesses reported a child entering the water at Washington Park Beach and disappearing below the surface, prompting an immediate multi-agency response.
- Michigan City Fire Department divers, an Indiana DNR diver, a fishing charter boat and drones were used in search efforts before conditions worsened.
- Three MCFD divers were taken to a hospital with minor injuries and a DNR diver was treated on scene, and those injuries helped prompt the suspension of dive work.
- The National Weather Service had issued a beach hazards statement warning of up to five-foot waves and life-threatening currents, and police said strong currents and poor underwater visibility made searching unsafe.
- Authorities say the search remains active but paused with no timeline to resume, and officials urged the public to heed posted warnings as regional drowning totals this year have been unusually high.