Paramedics responded to the beach around 6:30 p.m. and found that the teen, Jesus Garcia, had been removed from the water but was unconscious and not breathing, the Lake County coroner's office said.
He was taken to Vista Medical Center East where he was pronounced dead. A preliminary autopsy found he died of drowning, the coroner's office said.
RELATED: Detectives seek help identifying body of missing pregnant woman found in Lake Michigan
In an online fundraiser for Garcia's funeral expenses, his family said they lost a "beautiful, strong, smart, humble and most kind soul."
"Our family is devastated, broken, lost of words," they wrote. "Jesus will be very dearly missed during these hard times we would from the bottom of our hearts appreciate anyone who would want to contribute with future funeral expenses God bless everyone."
Last week, authorities recovered two bodies in Lake Michigan on the North Shore: A man who drowned at 63rd Street Harbor in Chicago, and a pregnant woman who remains unidentified.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire - Copyright Chicago Sun-Times 2021.)