CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- We're getting some details about what a person was thinking when he walked about a quarter-mile off-shore onto the Lake Michigan ice Friday morning.
The person, who was later found to be a "foreign" University of Chicago student, was spotted a quarter mile from shore on the ice off 55th Street.
Fire Department Spokesman Larry Langford said somehow he didn’t know he was on the lake.
The fire department and the police marine unit responded on foot, assisting the young man back to shore.
"We went out and rescued him. Got him off the ice. Got him back to firm ground and his was a bit mystified. According to our marine commander, he thought he was on firm ground. He had no idea he was on Lake Michigan. The young man is a college student. He is not from around here. He is a foreign student and he was just exploring a little bit and thought he was walking around in a park," Langford said.
The student has only been in this country for a few months.
"There's a language barrier and when all the crews approached him, he's like 'what are you doing?' He wanted us to stay away from him, because he had no idea what we were approaching for. And we were able to get through the language barrier and explain to him he was on the ice," Langford said. "At that point, he was very surprised, but very grateful that we were able to get him off the ice."
This could have ended badly for the student. Lake ice is constantly shifting with the currents below and what may seem to be a solid surface can open up without warning.
The fire department warned it's never safe to go out on Lake Michigan ice.
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