Sailor's Body Recovered Week After Mackinac Race

CHICAGO, IL — The body of a missing Chicago sailor has been recovered in Lake Michigan one week after falling off a yacht during a race.

Chicago police and the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed 53-year-old Jon Santarelli's body was spotted mid-day Saturday, about six miles from Chicago's Belmont Harbor.

Santarelli went missing July 21 approximately five miles east of Navy Pier. His crew's boat had just begun competing in the 110th edition of the Chicago Yacht Club's annual Race to Mackinac.

In a statement Saturday night, the yacht club expressed condolences to Santarelli's family, friends and the sailing community. A club official, Nick Berberian, said the club would investigate the death — including Santarelli's flotation device.

All competitors in the vicinity suspended racing the day he went missing to help search.

Image: In this July 22, 2006 file photo, one of the boats competing in the Chicago Yacht Club's Race to Mackinac heads to the start line on Lake Michigan with the downtown Chicago skyline as a backdrop. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Jeff Roberson