Paul Ehorn, a shipwreck hunter and scuba diver, found the Lac La Belle passenger steamer wreck in Lake Michigan after searching for almost 60 years. The ship sank over 150 years ago. Shipwreck World announced the discovery on Friday. The wreck lies about 20 miles offshore between Racine and Kenosha, Wisconsin. Ehorn located the shipwreck in October 2022 but delayed the announcement to create a 3D video model. Bad weather and other duties postponed their return dive until last summer. Ehorn, 80, began searching for shipwrecks at age 15. He started hunting the Lac La Belle in 1965. With help from a clue by fellow wreck hunter Ross Richardson, Ehorn narrowed down his search. After just two hours using side-scan sonar, he found the ship. "It’s kind of a game, like solve the puzzle," Ehorn said. The find made him "super elated." The Lac La Belle was a luxury passenger steamer that sailed from Milwaukee to Grand Haven, Michigan in October 1872. It carried 53 passengers and crew plus cargo including barley, flour, pork, and whiskey. Two hours into the trip, the ship leaked and turned back. Huge waves put out its boilers, and a storm pushed it south. The ship sank stern first at about 5 a.m. Lifeboats tried to reach shore, but one capsized, killing eight people. Others landed safely. Built in 1864 in Cleveland, Ohio, the 217-foot steamer previously sank in 1866 after a collision but was raised and fixed in 1869. Ehorn said the ship’s hull is intact, covered with mussels, but the upper cabins are gone. Oak interiors remain in good condition. Great Lakes hold 6,000 to 10,000 shipwrecks, most undiscovered. Searches have increased as invasive mussels threaten wrecks. The Lac La Belle is Ehorn’s 15th shipwreck discovery. He said, "It was one more to put a checkmark by. Now it’s on to the next one. It’s getting harder and harder. The easier ones have been found." Ehorn will showcase the discovery with video and images at the 2026 Ghost Ships Festival in Wisconsin in March.