Swimmer swept away by Lake Michigan gale-force winds, waves

CHICAGO (AP) — A swimmer has been swept away by huge waves and gale-force winds on Lake Michigan.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that the woman was among about a dozen swimmers who entered the lake about 9 a.m. Sunday at a Highland Park beach.

Witnesses say several got caught in the waves. Everyone but the woman reached shore.

One witness says some men tried unsuccessfully to throw the woman a line from a breakwater.

Highland Park Fire Chief Larry Amidei says emergency responders were searching for the woman but waves were too high to dispatch a Highland Park rescue boat. A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter from Traverse City, Michigan, arrived just before noon.

Rescuers were able to grab one man and pull him to shore. He was taken to Highland Park Hospital.