(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — For the first time in several years, Lake County Sheriff’s deputies will be patrolling Lake Michigan this boating season.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office says that for the first time since 2018, it will have a boat doing patrols and responding to emergencies over 900 square miles of Lake Michigan.
The sheriff’s office retired its old boat six years ago because it had mechanical and safety issues. It wasn’t until this year that the Lake County Board approved a replacement.
It’s a Fluid Watercraft Inflatable Patrol Boat that has two 225 horsepower engines and can carry 14 passengers.
The new boat is named in honor of Sheriff’s Deputy Gary Murphy who was killed in the line of duty in 1976.
Its patrols will be coordinated with the US Coast Guard and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources Conservation Police.
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