Officials called off a search on Wednesday for a Chicago man who drowned Tuesday night while swimming with friends in Lake Michigan, Evanston fire department Division Chief Alan Berkowsky said.

Bader Odah, 18, was confirmed drowned at 2 p.m. Wednesday. Odah had been swimming with two friends Tuesday night when he probably got caught in an undercurrent, Berkowsky said. He died just four days before his 19th birthday.

Odah had been with about 12 friends on South Boulevard Beach at the 500 block of Sheridan Road Tuesday around 9 p.m., when he and the others decided to go swimming, Berkowsky said.

Rescue crews responded to a call at 9:19 p.m. that Odah had gone under the water and, along with several departments from area communities, searched the waters until 12:15 a.m. The search resumed at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday morning and continued until 2 p.m., when it was called off.

In all, 24 divers on four boats and a helicopter crew scoured Lake Michigan searching for Odah, Fire Department Chief John Wilkinson said.

South Boulevard Beach, like all Evanston beaches, closes at 8 p.m. The group of friends were not supposed to be on the beach. There was no indication they had been drinking. It appeared they were just sitting on the beach and talking, Wilkinson said.

Odah was the first drowning victim in Evanston this year, he said. There were two last year, and while some years pass without an accident, the most drowning deaths recorded in Evanston is nine, Wilkinson said.

“Considering 25 percent of Evanston’s boundaries are the lake, we have a very good safety record,” Berkowsky said.

Police patrol the beach after closing, but there are no lifeguards on duty, Berkowsky said.

“It was pretty rough conditions last night,” he said. “People don’t understand the power of Lake Michigan. Sometimes it’s more of a sea than a lake.”