Marathon swimmer ends his quest to cross Lake Michigan after two days

GRAND HAVEN, Mich. (AP) — A 60-year-old swimmer who crossed Lake Michigan in 1998 apparently has ended his effort to repeat the feat.

An online tracking device shows Jim Dreyer appeared to turn around and return to shore by boat Thursday in western Michigan, two days after he began swimming to Wisconsin.

Dreyer was attempting to swim to Milwaukee from Grand Haven, Michigan, an odyssey that likely would have covered more than 80 miles (128.7 kilometers).

Dreyer, who calls himself The Shark, didn’t return phone messages Friday from The Associated Press. The U.S. Coast Guard, which patrols the Great Lakes, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and local police agencies said they didn’t know if he had given up.

Dreyer’s supporters said on Facebook that he was out of the water and physically OK.

He swam across Lake Michigan, from Two Rivers, Wisconsin, to Michigan’s Ludington State Park, in 1998, an incredible feat that lasted nearly 41 hours.

Dreyer twice tried to cross the lake in 2023 — the 25th anniversary — but had to give up because of volatile weather and water conditions.