Itasca Man Dead, Elgin Woman Missing After Group Swim

ELGIN, IL — An Itasca man has drowned and an Elgin woman remains missing after getting caught in rough waters with a group of swimmers in Lake Michigan Sunday morning in Highland Park. Local police and fire departments were called to Park Avenue Beach around 9:15 a.m. for a report that 10 people who had gone swimming as part of an "independent cold water swim group" had encountered difficulty due to lake conditions, according to a release from the Highland Park Fire Department.

Arriving emergency personnel at the scene learned two swimmers were missing and in distress. Rescuers found an unresponsive 46-year-old Itasca man in the water and brought him to the beach. He was taken to Highland Park Hospital and pronounced dead upon arrival. A 52-year-old Elgin woman was not found and remained missing Sunday evening, when authorities suspended rescue operations.

The Lake County Coroner has identified the man as Stanislaw Wlosek, 46, from Itasca. The preliminary autopsy results indicate he died as a result of
drowning, the coroner said.

A 52-year-old Elgin woman, identified by Highland Park city staff as Lena Lemesh, was not immediately found and remained missing as of Monday evening after a second day of search operations.

A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter arrived around 11:45 a.m. to assist with the search, according to the release. Lake conditions were too hazardous for search crews on boats to enter the area. Highland Park has advised departments along the Lake Michigan shoreline in Illinois and Wisconsin to monitor their beaches for the missing Elgin woman.

Park Avenue Beach is managed by the Park District of Highland Park. Swimming and wading are never permitted there. According to the Highland Park Fire Department, the swimming group entered the water in the area of the boat launch. City officials asked anyone with information about the missing swimmer to contact Highland Park police at 847-432-7730.

Report by Jonah Meadows.

Top image via Shutterstock