Luxury steamer that sank in 1872 found in Lake Michigan after 60-year search

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Searchers have discovered the wreck of a luxury steamer that sank in a Lake Michigan gale in the late 19th century, completing a quest that began almost 60 years ago.

Shipwreck World, a group that works to locate shipwrecks around the globe, announced Friday that a team led by Illinois shipwreck hunter Paul Ehorn found the Lac La Belle about 20 miles (32 kilometers) offshore between Racine and Kenosha, Wisconsin, in October 2022.

Ehorn told The Associated Press in a phone interview on Sunday that the announcement was delayed because his team wanted to include a three-dimensional video model of the ship with it, but poor weather and other commitments kept his dive team from going back down to the wreck until last summer.

Ehorn, 80, has been searching for shipwrecks since he was 15 years old. He said that he’s been trying to pinpoint the Lac La Belle’s location since 1965. He used a clue from fellow wreck hunter and author Ross Richardson in 2022 to narrow down his search grid and found the ship using side-scan sonar after just two hours on the lake, he said.

“It’s kind of a game, like solve the puzzle. Sometimes you don’t have many pieces to put the puzzle together but this one worked out and we fou...