A search and rescue call at 10 a.m. Friday for a 28-year-old man lost in Fox Lake while water-tubing with two young children turned to a recovery operation 90 minutes later when he could not be located.
Divers from a number of Lake County fire departments were still searching for the man late Friday afternoon using sonar detection equipment.
The Fox Lake Fire Protection District received a call of individuals in the water needing assistance. The man and two small children were being towed on a water tube behind a pontoon boat when it flipped over.
The two children were wearing life vests and were helped back into the boat by their mother. The man was not wearing a life vest and struggled to stay afloat before going under, officials said.
Department spokesman Chief Ed Lescher said, “When we arrived on scene, we saw a pontoon boat circling frantically. We had responding units from most of Lake and McHenry counties. We searched the area, and other dive crews brought the sonar detection devices. At approximately 11:45, the operation switched to recovery mode.”
Diver units from Fox Lake, Cary, Wauconda, Buffalo Grove, McHenry and other county departments remained on the scene aiding with the search.
