What began as a rescue attempt after a man fell off an ice shelf at Indiana Dunes National Park Monday afternoon had been deemed a body recovery mission by Tuesday morning, Indiana Department of Natural Resources officials said.
“Wave conditions here are poor at best,” said Indiana Conservation Officer Alex Neel.
Officials had planned to conduct a surface search on boats and to search nearby beaches, but a sonar search might be hindered by the waves, he said. The Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. National Park Service were both on the scene Tuesday morning, he said.
Indiana Conservation Officers, park rangers, multiple fire departments, a sheriff’s department and the United States Coast Guard were all involved in the rescue effort Monday evening, according to a news release from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
“We were definitely in rescue mode last night, with a helicopter and having everyone out,” Neel said. But the effort turned had been deemed a recovery — meaning there was little hope of locating the man alive — due to factors including low water temperature, the elapsed time since the man went missing and search delays in unfavorable conditions, he said.
The man was in a group of five who had walked onto the ice shelf when it began to crack, the news release said. The rest of the group made it back to shore, but one person fell in.
Group members tried to reach their friend, but couldn’t due to “large waves and unstable ice,” officials said. First responders were dispatched to West Beach in the national park around 5:30 p.m.
The man’s identity has not been made public.
Conservation officers warned people to stay off the “unpredictable and extremely dangerous” ice shelf.
What began as a rescue attempt after a man fell off an ice shelf at Indiana Dunes National Park Monday afternoon had been deemed a body recovery mission by Tuesday morning, Indiana Department of Natural Resources officials said. “Wave conditions here are poor at best,” said Indiana Conservation Officer Alex Neel. Officials had planned to conduct a surface search on boats and to search nearby beaches, but a sonar search might be hindered by the waves, he said. The Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. National Park Service were both on the scene Tuesday morning, he said. Indiana Conservation Officers, park rangers, multiple fire departments, a sheriff’s department and the United States Coast Guard were all involved in the rescue effort Monday evening, according to a news release from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. “We were definitely in rescue mode last night, with a helicopter and having everyone out,” Neel said. But the effort turned had been deemed a recovery — meaning there was little hope of locating the man alive — due to factors including low water temperature, the elapsed time since the man went missing and search delays in unfavorable conditions, he said. The man was in a group of five who had walked onto the ice shelf when it began to crack, the news release said. The rest of the group made it back to shore, but one person fell in. Group members tried to reach their friend, but couldn’t due to “large waves and unstable ice,” officials said. First responders were dispatched to West Beach in the national park around 5:30 p.m. The man’s identity has not been made public. Conservation officers warned people to stay off the “unpredictable and extremely dangerous” ice shelf.