Illinois teen drowns at Gary’s Miller Beach

An 18-year-old lllinois man drowned Saturday afternoon at Miller Beach, where high north winds created dangerous rip currents and hampered search efforts.

Rayan Mohammed, 18, of Bartlett, Illinois, died as a result of asphyxia from an accidental drowning, according to a release from the Lake County Coroner’s Office.

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

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

Around 6 p.m., a beachgoer saw a body in the water approximately 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 Ave, and the victim was pronounced dead on scene, officials said.