Man Recovered From Lake Michigan Monday
Indiana Conservation Officers are investigating after the body of a missing angler was recovered yesterday afternoon from Lake Michigan, according to Conservation Officers.
Shortly after 11:30 AM, Porter County Central Communications received a 911 call reporting that a man identified as Michael Barnes, 67, of Valparaiso, had gone under the surface of the water approximately 60 yards from shore near Burns Ditch after attempting to retrieve his boat, which had drifted from a beach area as he fished from shore.
Multiple private fishing vessels began searching the area, joined by an Indiana Dunes National Park Ranger who boarded one of the vessels and relayed information to the United States Coast Guard, Lake County Sheriff’s Department Marine and Aviation Units, and Indiana Conservation Officers.
At 1:40 PM, using an unmanned remotely operated vehicle equipped with sonar and video, conservation officers located Barnes, whom Portage Fire Department divers recovered from the water. Barnes was pronounced dead at the scene.
Other assisting agencies included Portage Police Department, Portage Fire Department, Porter Fire Department, Burns Harbor Fire Department, Ogden Dunes Fire Department, Lake County Sheriff’s Department Marine and Aviation Units, Porter County Dive Team, Hobart Dive Team, Porter County Coroner’s Office, and chaplains from the Portage Police Department and Indiana DNR Division of Law Enforcement.
