RACINE, Wis. — A 12-year-old boy drowned Wednesday morning near the Pershing Park Boat Launch, according to the Racine Sheriff's Department.
The Racine Fire Department reported it was called to the 5th Street boat launch around 8:15 a.m. on Wednesday for a report of a person underwater.
According to the fire department, when crews arrived just minutes later, they found a bystander in the water searching for the boy who was swimming with a friend.
Watch: Divers locate swimmer who went missing near Racine boat launch
The fire department said the “two adolescents” were swimming near the east break wall in the boat launch area when one of the swimmers went underwater and did not return to the surface.
After a search that lasted about an hour, divers located the swimmer at the bottom of the lake.
The fire department said poor visibility affected the search, forcing divers to use search patterns and underwater imaging to find the swimmer.
It also emphasized the dangers of swimming in any body of water, saying even strong swimmers can get into trouble, and warned against swimming in an area without lifeguards or rescue flotation devices.
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