21-year-old Detroit man drowns in Oakland County lake, marking 4th drowning in 3 weeks
(CBS DETROIT) - A 21-year-old Detroit man drowned while swimming in Kensington Lake over the weekend, marking the fourth drowning in three weeks in Oakland County, according to the sheriff's office.
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard called the incident a tragic accident that has become too frequent. This drowning marked the 10th in Oakland County so far this year.
"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. "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 recent incident happened at 6 p.m. Saturday at Martindale Beach at Milford Township's Kensington Park. The Oakland County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue Team responded to the beach after initially receiving a report that a child may have gone into the lake.
When they arrived, they discovered that a 21-year-old Detroit man was swimming with a friend when he began to struggle and went under the water in the marked swimming area of the lake.
Police say the victim may have tried to grab a nearby buoy but couldn't hold onto it.
The victim's friend didn't speak English, which made it difficult to let other people on the shore know what was happening, but another swimmer saw the victim go under and alerted authorities.
The search and rescue team and the Southeast Michigan Dive Group teams from Livingston and Wayne counties found the 21-year-old in about six to eight feet of water about 50 yards from the shore.
Authorities say the 21-year-old was unresponsive when he was brought to the shore. He was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The investigation is ongoing.
Three other drownings have also happened in Oakland County this month. This includes a 62-year-old man who fell off a boat on White Lake and didn't resurface on July 6.
In addition to this, a 21-year-old man from Highland Township drowned in Townsend Lake in Independence Township on July 16, and on July 20, a 20-year-old Detroit man drowned in Rose Township's Taylor Lake.