Officials working to identify body pulled from water in Kenosha



KENOSHA (WITI) -- An autopsy is scheduled for Monday, July 1st in Kenosha, after a body was pulled from Lake Michigan in Kenosha on Saturday night, June 29th. The discovery of a man's body was made less than two weeks after a Kenosha man disappeared in the water.

Officials say they could tell the body they found was that of a man -- however, they are still working to positively identify the body.

Meanwhile, those who saw the body in Lake Michigan call the situation a terrible tragedy.

The winds were strong and the waters rough on Sunday afternoon at Kenosha Harbor -- the same conditions that challenged emergency workers on Saturday night, as they worked to recover a body spotted in Lake Michigan.

"The subject was floating and based upon the wind conditions, the wave conditions in the harbor, we had to develop a plan to get the subject out of the water," Kenosha Fire Battalion Chief Kenneth Schroeder said.

Police were called to Kenosha Harbor around 7:30 Saturday night. Roy Solomon says he was one of those who saw the body in the water.

"Some guy was flagging us down. He was actually flagging the cops down, but we got there right before the cops. We thought someone was drowning, but then we saw the decomposed body," Solomon said.

Less than two weeks earlier, 31-year-old Ben McCarter was swimming with friends in the harbor when he went under. Many in the crowd that gathered Saturday wondered aloud whether the body that was found belongs to McCarter.

Officials say it was impossible to know just by looking at the body.

"I really couldn't tell. I don't think anyone else could tell that information. From what it appeared, the subject had been in the water for quite a while," Schroeder said.

As emergency crews packed up, the crowd left the area. Solomon was among the last to leave -- still bothered by what he had seen.

"It's not something you want to see. It's not something you come upon every day, and it's bad stuff," Solomon said.

In a statement Sunday morning, Kenosha police acknowledged the possibility that the body found is that of McCarter. Police say detectives are working with the Medical Examiner's Office to confirm the identity.