Decades-long hunt yields Lac La Belle wreck in Lake Michigan
TL;DR
Searchers led by Paul Ehorn of Shipwreck World located the 217-foot luxury steamer Lac La Belle off Wisconsin, completing a roughly six-decade quest. Built in 1864, it sank in October 1872 after a gale while sailing from Milwaukee to Grand Haven; the wreck lies about 20 miles offshore between Racine and Kenosha, remains largely intact with the hull preserved and the exterior mussel-covered. Discovered in 2022 and announced in 2026 with a 3D model, it marks Ehorn’s 15th shipwreck find as investigators press on for the next discovery.
- Searchers uncover wreck of luxury steamer lost in Lake Michigan more than 150 years ago NBC News
- Searchers find missing ship in Lake Michigan, over 150 years after it sunk The Guardian
- Luxury steamer that sunk in Lake Michigan more than 150 years ago has been found CBS News
- Steamer sank in Lake Michigan undiscovered for 153 years. Until now. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
- Lake Michigan shipwreck hunter finds elusive steamer lost in 1872 MLive.com
Want the full story? Read the original reporting
Read on NBC News