Crews suspend water search for missing man in Lake Michigan at Evanston's Lighthouse Beach

EVANSTON, Ill. (WLS) -- Our coverage of this story has moved here.

A swimmer went missing in Lake Michigan in the north suburbs on Sunday afternoon, officials said. Dangerous water conditions caused issues for the rescue attempt, putting the search on pause until Monday morning.

Evanston police and fire officials said three swimmers were rescued around 4 p.m. at Lighthouse Beach, but a fourth swimmer, a 41-year-old man, is unaccounted for.

ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch

"Two teenage females, one adult female and a 41-year-old male ... the three females were brought in with the assistance of one of our citizens who were on the scene swimming," Evanston Fire Department Capt. Jeff Boetto said.

The beach was under a red flag alert Sunday, which means the water is unsafe for swimming, officials said. A beach hazard warning was in effect all day with high winds creating 4 to 5 foot waves.

"With the conditions of the water and the waves there's just zero visibility out there for us," Boetto said. "When we put the red flag up, that's there for a specific reason... no lifeguard on duty, you're entering the water at your own risk, and we don't want to have what happened today to happen to anybody else."

Lighthouse Beach was closed and there was a heavy police and fire presence in the area as crews searched for the missing man.

SEE ALSO | Teen dies in Lake Michigan, 2 others rescued from water, Wisconsin officials say

The search was called off for the evening after 7 p.m. due to the dangerous water conditions and low visibility, authorities told ABC7.

"After extensive search efforts, the Evanston Fire Department has made the difficult decision to call off the search for today. However, the search will resume tomorrow, Monday, July 1, during the morning hours, as we remain committed to the recovery of the missing individual," a statement from an Evanston spokesperson read.

The Chicago Fire Department and the U.S. Coast Guard were assisting. The CFD helicopter was on scene and the Evanston Fire Department deployed a drone.

Zach Nellis was on the beach with his family when rescue crews arrived on scene.

"Hopefully they find swimmer... hoping for the best... it's a strong current out there," Nellis said.

It was not immediately known if the missing man is related to the three other swimmers who were rescued.

Officials did not immediately provide further information.