A 26-year-old man from Detroit drowned Sunday afternoon after entering deep water in Cass Lake, officials said.
Deputies were called around 4:15 p.m. to the Keego Harbor area of the lake. According to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, the man was on a 20-foot boat with four others. The group had been near a sandbar, but the boat moved into deeper water — about 55 feet — when the man entered the lake, not realizing the depth.
Authorities say the man did not know how to swim and quickly became distressed. A friend on the boat jumped in to help and was briefly able to bring him to the surface, but the man panicked and slipped underwater.
Crews from the Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team responded and began searching based on witness accounts. After locating the area, divers found the man about 1,700 feet from shore within six minutes.
Rescuers immediately began CPR, and the man was rushed to the hospital, where he later died.
