On Monday, Chanell Davis, 38, of Chicago Heights, sat on the couch waiting by the phone and watched the news that the search for her 14-year-old son, DaVante Jackson, had shifted from a rescue to a recovery mission. (Slideshow)

"Oh God," she said, crying.

"I don't wish this on my worst enemy," Davis said. "You never think about burying your child."

Throughout the day, about two dozen divers searched the waters of Lake Michigan for Jackson, a 14-year-old who went below the surface Sunday afternoon at Kemil Beach, near Beverly Shores, and was not seen again.

Divers took turns in a back-and-forth sweep of the lake bottom between 50 and 150 yards offshore. In 30- to 50-minute shifts, two or three divers at a time looked for Jackson while holding onto a bar pulled across the bottom. The search area was from one-tenth of a mile east of where Jackson was last seen to one-half mile to the west, said Gene Davis, a conservation officer with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.

The search, which began at 6 a.m., ended about 7 p.m., Gene Davis said. The search will continue today with lake surface patrols and searchers scanning the water from all-terrain vehicles, Gene Davis said.

Dive team member Sgt. Dan Leslie of the Indiana State Police, who made several dives Monday, called the work a "somber occasion," but said divers carried on with the job they were trained to do. The divers hoped to find Jackson's body to spare his family further turmoil, Leslie said.

Chanell Davis said she didn't know what to do, and she was trying to enjoy the company of her other children to pass the time.

"I'm just waiting by the phone, just waiting," she said. "Just come home."

Jackson recently finished eighth grade at Washington School and planned to attend Bloom High School in Chicago Heights.

By her right hand, Davis had a pile of pictures from his eighth-grade graduation. Her other arm rested against a backpack with a set of dry clothes and a pair of shoes ready, in case her son called.

"He didn't call and ask me to go," she said. "I know he's out there waiting for me. I know he is out there with a big old smile laughing and waiting for me.

"My baby ain't going nowhere. Until I see him pulled out of the water, he's still out there holding on. He'd never go nowhere without telling me."

Jackson was a good child and earned As and Bs, she said. He was a fast cross-country runner and wanted to play football and join the wrestling team at Bloom High School, she said.

"He's smart, good with his hands, could fix anything," Davis said. "His PlayStation 2 broke and he opened it up and fixed it. He fixed things in this house, but he couldn't fix this."

Davis said she wishes her son had called and asked before going to the second beach with his friends. She would've told him no, she said. Other people should be careful swimming in Lake Michigan, she said.

"Just tell them stay out of the water," Davis said. "Just stay out of the water. If it comes up over your waist, don't get in it."

Involved in the search operation were dive teams from the Portage Fire Department, Porter Fire Department, Lakes of the Four Seasons Fire Department, Indiana State Police and the DNR.

Also taking part with air, surface or other operations were Beverly Shores police, the Lake County Sheriff's Department, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Indiana Dunes State Park, Valparaiso police, Porter County Red Cross and the U.S. Coast Guard.