- Credibility:
HYDE PARK — A body found at Promontory Point has been identified as the former standout football player and Nike trainer who went missing from a boat on Lake Michigan for more than a week.
Bryan Jeffrey Jackson, 38, a Roseland resident and father of two, was discovered on the rocks at Promontory Point, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office. He was pronounced dead on the scene and a cause of death has yet to be determined, according to the office.
Jackson went into the lake to swim about a mile offshore on the morning of Sept. 5, media reports said at the time. A woman who also jumped into the lake returned to the boat, but Jackson never did.
After the Coast Guard suspended its search for Jackson later that afternoon, his family publicly pled for more support from responders to find him.
Jackson was the former partner of activist Tanya Lozano, co-founder of Healthy Hood Chicago, and they have two young children together.
Jackson was a master trainer with Nike since 2017 and worked with several Chicago sports teams, including the Chicago Bulls.
A GoFundMe has been set up to support Jackson’s two children, Apollonia and Bryan, Jr. Donations can be made here.
A public service for Jackson, affectionally known as “B Jack,” will be held 11 a.m. Sept. 30 at Life Covenant Church Southeast, 7621 S. Greenwood Ave., according to the GoFundMe.
“He is gone TOO” soon,” fundraiser organizer Jonathan Jackson said in the post. “We thank everyone who has provided support and kindness as we are going through this tragic event one day at a time.”
Lozano told the Tribune another man and woman were onboard the 27-foot boat from which Jackson disappeared. They told Lozano they were on the bottom deck when Jackson and the second woman jumped in the water to swim. By the time the two returned to the top deck, he and the woman were gone, Lozano told the Tribune.
The owner of the boat found the woman about 15 minutes later, but not Jackson, the Sun-Times reported.
According to the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project, over 30 people have drowned in Lake Michigan in 2023.
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