Bartlett man, 18, drowned Saturday while swimming in Lake Michigan at Gary, officials say

An 18-year-old Bartlett man drowned Saturday afternoon in Lake Michigan at Gary, Indiana, where high north winds created dangerous rip currents and hampered search efforts, officials said.

Rayan Mohammed, 18, died as a result of asphyxia from an accidental drowning at Miller Beach, according to a release from the Lake County (Indiana) Coroner’s Office.

Gary police were notified about 2:40 p.m. that a person was missing and responded to the Miller Beach area, according to a release from Gary spokesman Cmdr. Samuel Roberts. The man’s uncle told police he last saw his nephew swimming about 2 p.m. at the beach near Lakeshore Drive and Sullivan Street, the release said.

Multiple agencies with dive teams responded to the scene, including the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. High winds, which created three to six-foot waves, made the search difficult, officials said.

A beachgoer reported about 6 p.m. seeing a body in the water about three quarters of a mile from where the man was last seen, the DNR release said. A recovery was made near Newton Street and Oak Avenue, and Mohammed was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said.