Honduran teen drowns in Lake Michigan after helping girlfriend reach shore

Yoni Santos, the 16-year-old Honduran who drowned Sunday in Lake Michigan, was a happy and hard-working boy, his family said.

Santos and his girlfriend had gone swimming at Rainbow Beach Sunday afternoon and after a while, realized they had drifted too far from shore.

“They couldn’t feel the sand under them anymore so Yoni gave his girlfriend a push so she could reach shallower water,” his neighbor Casandra Ledesma said.

The push helped Santos’ girlfriend reach the beach but it caused him to drift further into the lake.

“He wasn’t a great swimmer and the waves were too high that day,” Ledesma said. “He went under and never came back up.”

Santos was last seen in the water near the 3100 block of East 77th Street about 3:42 p.m. That’s when he went under and didn’t resurface, police said. Chicago Fire Department divers searched for him but had to stop due to inclement weather.

His uncle, Josue Santos, said he didn’t know Santos had gone to the beach until the police called him to tell him he was missing.

“By the time I got to the beach the fire department had stopped the search,” Josue Santos said. “I wanted to go in and look myself but they wouldn’t let me. They said it was too dangerous. I felt helpless.”

Santos’ body washed up on Rainbow Beach Wednesday morning. That’s when “I got a call saying they had found him,” Josue Santos said. “I had to go ID him and it was… it was him.”

Santos migrated from Honduras less than two years ago and was living with his aunt and Josue Santos on the Southwest Side.

Josue Santos said his nephew wanted to come to Chicago to help provide for his mom and two younger brothers, who were living in Honduras.

“He was like a son to me,” Josue Santos said. “It’s extremely difficult to describe what this has all been like. It makes me so sad to know that my sister will never see her son again. She’s devastated.”

Santos had been sending money to his mother by working as a painter.

“He was a hard worker,” said Ledesma. “He was always working so he could help his mom back home.”

Josue Santos said he’s been grateful for the help he’s gotten from his nephew’s friend.

“Yoni loved to be happy,” he said. “He sought out his own happiness and he loved his friends. Whenever his friends needed help, he was there for them. Now, they’re showing up for us.”

Josue Santos said his family is raising funds to have the body taken to Honduras, where he will be buried.

A GoFundMe has been set up to help with funeral expenses.