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Officials Find Body Of Missing US Navy Sailor In Lake Michigan

Public/Screenshot/YouTube — User: CBS Chicago

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Police and fire department officials recovered the body of missing U.S. Navy sailor Seamus Gray from Lake Michigan on April 19, authorities say.

Police officers were conducting a traffic stop near the Waukegan Harbor at approximately 7 p.m. Wednesday when they were flagged down by ComEd utility workers who said they saw a body in the harbor, CBS Chicago reported. With help from the Waukegan Fire Department, law enforcement officials were able to retrieve the body and bring it to shore.


A preliminary investigation of the body and clothing matched “the description of the missing United States Navy Sailor Seamus Gray,” police said, according to CBS Chicago. The Lake County Coroner’s Office later positively identified the body as Gray’s. (RELATED: Body In Barrel Found In Lake Mead)

Gray, 21, was last seen leaving a bar near the harbor at about 2 a.m. March 18 after St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. Cell phone data indicated Gray’s last known location was around the shoreline of Lake Michigan, but search efforts in the days following his disappearance proved fruitless.

Stationed at Naval Station Great Lakes in North Chicago, Gray “lived for the Navy,” loved ones told FOX 32.

The late sailor’s mother, Kerry Gray, actively searched for her son, leaving her home in Florida to help join in the effort, CBS reported. “We’ve never not [been] in contact,” she said after her son’s disappearance. “The only time I’ve ever not heard from my son was when he was in bootcamp. We talked 10 times a day – whether it’s silly memes, whether it’s just texting.”

An autopsy is planned for April 20 to determine the cause of death, FOX 32 reported.