The extensive search that began Sunday afternoon in Lake Michigan for 14-year old DaVante Jackson of Chicago has come to an end.

Indiana conservation officers recovered Jackson’s body at 10:22 a.m. today, said the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division.

Jackson disappeared in Lake Michigan Sunday off Kemil Road in Beverly Shores. According to the DNR, Jackson and 10 others in his group initially went to the Indiana Dunes State Park but found that the beach was closed to swimming due to a strong rip current. The group then went to the unpatrolled beach at Kemil Road, where Jackson and two others were pulled away by a rip current.

The other two swimmers were rescued by friends, while Jackson was seen to go under the water and never resurface, according to the DNR.

The DNR said that at about 10 a.m. today, calls started coming in that an object could be seen about a quarter mile east of the site where Sunday’s search began. The DNR said people on the beach reported that they could see an object in the water. However, because cell phone coverage is so bad in the area, it took several calls before the exaction location could be determined.

Two DNR patrol boats that were in the area arrived on scene and took the body into custody. The Porter County Coroner’s office was notified and then took the body into its possession. The final cause of death will be determined by the coroner.

Since the time the original call of a person missing in Lake Michigan went out, the DNR noted that hundreds of hours from many federal, state, county and local agencies along with the use of helicopters, boats, scuba equipment, ATVs, and much more equipment have been in a continuous search for the youth.

Posted 7/16/2008