Body pulled from Lake Michigan positively ID'd as Ben McCarter

KENOSHA (WITI) -- The Kenosha County Medical Examiner's Office has positively identified a body pulled from Lake Michigan n Kenosha on Saturday, July 29th as that of Ben McCarter.

The discovery of a man's body was made less than two weeks after McCarter disappeared in the water.

"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.

McCarter was swimming with his friends in Lake Michigan near Kenosha's North Pier, when a strong current pulled him under. He was at the lake for a cookout, but never returned to the shore.