21-Year-Old Drowns, 3 People Rescued At Evanston Beach

EVANSTON, IL — Fire crews rescued three people and recovered the body of a fourth Saturday after getting a call about swimmers in distress in the water off Clark Street Beach.

The Evanston Fire Department was dispatched to the beach at 12:57 p.m. for a call of three people in the water who needed help, according to city officials.

Rescue swimmers headed into the water and soon pulled out a mother, her daughter and a man who had entered the water in an attempt to help them, according to a department release.

All three were pulled from a break wall and taken to a local hospital, with the mother in critical condition at the time, said Communications Manager Patrick Deignan.

About an hour after the original 911 call, fire crews discovered someone had left their clothes, shoes and other belongings on the beach, Deignan said.

That triggered a seven-hour search and rescue — and later recovery — operation that brought in help from 20 area fire departments and the U.S. Coast Guard.

Hussin Abdul-Samad, 21, of Chicago's West Rogers Park neighborhood, was identified as the swimmer who died Saturday at the beach, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office, which ruled his death an accidental drowning.

Abdul-Samad went into the lake at about 12:55 p.m. and never emerged in what appears to be a separate incident, unrelated to the rescue of the distressed swimmers, Deignan said.

Evanston beaches are closed to swimming after Labor Day.

There are no lifeguards on duty at any of the city's beaches, although Deignan said there were several staff at the Clark Street Beach Office carrying out end-of-season closeout activities at the time of the rescue and recovery operations.

"In this part of the year, the waters are very unpredictable. It could be a beautiful day but you don't know what the waters are doing," Fire Chief Paul Polep told reporters during the search.

"That's why the beaches are closed," he said. "That's why you should be very mindful of what you're doing before you go in the water and be well aware of all your surroundings."

At least 38 people have drowned in Lake Michigan so far in 2021, more than a dozen of them in the Chicago area, according to the nonprofit Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project.

Abdul-Samad is the first person to drown at Clark Street Beach since 31-year-old Marco Quito died last July.

Related:

• Boaters Rescued From Lake Michigan Amid High Winds, Heavy Rain
• 3 Men Rescued From Lake Michigan By Evanston Fire Department
• Chicago Man Drowns At Clark Street Beach In Evanston