21-year-old Detroit man drowns in Oakland County lake; 4th drowning in 3 weeks
The death was the 10th in an Oakland County lake so far this year, authorities said.
Amy HuschkaA 21-year-old Detroit man drowned while swimming Saturday in Kent Lake, marking the fourth drowning in three weeks in an Oakland County lake and adds to a recent spate of drownings in metro Detroit.
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard called the drowning "a tragic accident that has become too frequent." The death was the 10th in an Oakland County lake so far this year, authorities said.
“A source of great fun and joy can become a location of tragedy as we have seen far too often in our lakes this summer,” Bouchard said in a news release. “I encourage people to have emergency capabilities nearby including flotation devices and watch each other while in the water. If you are not a strong swimmer, it’s a good idea to wear a flotation device.”
The other Oakland County July drownings include:
- On July 6, a 62-year-old Detroit man drowned after falling from a boat into White Lake in White Lake Township. He was not wearing a life jacket.
- On July 16, a 21-year-old Highland Township man drowned while swimming with a buddy in Independence Township's Townsend Lake.
- On July 20, a 20-year-old Detroit man is dead after drowning at Taylor Lake in Rose Township.
At around 6 p.m. Saturday, at Kent Lake in Kensington Metropark's Martindale Beach in Milford Township, the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue Team were initially dispatched on the report that a child may have gone into the water, a news release said.
Upon arrival, SSRT found out that the Detroit man had been swimming with a friend when the man began to struggle and went under water in the marked swimming area, authorities said.
Investigators believe the victim may have attempted to grab a nearby buoy but could not hold on, authorities said. The friend did not speak English, making it difficult to convey to others on shore that the man was in peril, authorities said.
Another swimmer in the water at the time saw the victim go underwater and was able to alert authorities.
SSRT, assisted by Southeast Michigan Dive Group strike teams from Livingston and Wayne counties, found the man in approximately 6-8 feet of water 50 yards from shore. He was unresponsive when he was taken to the shore, authorities said.
The man was taken to a nearby hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
The incident is under investigation.
Editor's note: An earlier version if this story misidentified the lake where the drowning took place, due to an error in a release from the Oakland County Sheriff's Office. The drowning occurred in Kent Lake. This story has been updated.
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Contact Amy Huschka: ahuschka@freepress.com or follow her on Twitter (@aetmanshuschka).