Sailboat Found Crashed Off Wind Point, Man Dead After Lake Rescue

RACINE, WI — A 60-year-old Chicago man is dead after authorities attempted to rescue him when a sailboat was reported crashing into a sand bar near the Wind Point lighthouse Thursday afternoon, according to a news release from the Racine County Sheriff's Office.

A 911 call around 4:45 p.m. informed authorities the sailboat may have crashed into the sand bar and that no one was on board but the motor was running, the news release said. Sheriff's deputies found the boat 200 yards from shore with nobody inside.

The U.S. Coast Guard and Racine County Sheriff Boat-1 searched for the man and after 3 hours they found him 2 miles from shore, south of Myers Park. The man had a personal flotation device on and was unresponsive, according to the news release.

Authorities tried to save the man as he was brought back to shore on the boat, and the Racine Fire Department continued to try to resuscitate the man as he was brought to a hospital but unfortunately, he has died, the sheriff's office said.

The man's family told authorities they last heard from him over the phone around 2 p.m. that day when he was moving his boat from the Chicago area to Racine for the summer, the news release said. The sheriff's office is investigating but does not suspect any foul play.

The sheriff's office offered condolences to the man's family.