Park District: 10-Year-Old Boy Drowned While Swimming in Jericho Lake

The 10-year-old boy who drowned in Jericho Lake on Sunday was swimming with his family when he went under, Fox Valley Park District officials said Monday.

The boy, whose name has not been released, was at Jericho Lake Park on Montgomery’s west side with his parents, siblings and other relatives around 6 p.m., district officials said. He apparently went swimming with his siblings, who lost sight of him and didn’t know whether he had left the water.

Swimming in Jericho Lake is strictly prohibited, district officials said in a statement on Monday, and signs to that effect are posted prominently.

Firefighters were called to the scene at approximately 6:04 p.m. on Sunday, according to Gary Baum, assistant chief with the Sugar Grove Fire Department. Four divers searched for the boy beneath the surface of the lake, in zero visibility, for about 43 minutes, Baum said, while firefighters in two boats looked for him from above.

The boy was finally found at 6:47 p.m. in 12 feet of water, approximately 25 feet off shore, Baum said. He was taken to Provena Mercy Medical Center in Aurora, where he was pronounced dead, Park District officials said.

Park District police and Sugar Grove firefighters were assisted by fire departments from Aurora and Montgomery and Countryside, and Montgomery and Aurora police.

Jericho Lake is a 20-acre fishing and boating lake owned by the Fox Valley Park District. District police are cooperating with other local authorities in the investigation, according to the written statement.

“The Fox Valley Park District extends its sorrow and deepest sympathy to the family and friends of the victim,” the statement concludes.

Check back with Patch for more details as they are released.