Oakland County, MI – A 21-year-old Detroit man drowned Saturday evening while swimming in Kensington Lake, marking the fourth drowning in an Oakland County lake in the past three weeks.
The incident occurred around 6 p.m. at Martindale Beach in Kensington Metropark, Milford Township. The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue Team (SSRT) was initially dispatched following reports of a child potentially in the water. Upon arrival, they discovered the Detroit man had been swimming with a friend when he began to struggle and went under in a marked swimming area.
Investigators believe the victim tried to grab a nearby buoy but was unable to hold on. His friend, who did not speak English, faced challenges in alerting others to the emergency. Another swimmer witnessed the man go underwater and promptly alerted authorities.
SSRT, assisted by the Southeast Michigan Dive Group teams from Livingston and Wayne counties, found the man in approximately 6-8 feet of water, about 50 yards from shore. He was unresponsive when brought to shore and later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard expressed concern over the recent spate of drownings. “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,” he said. He urged swimmers to use flotation devices and stay vigilant.
The other drownings in the past three weeks include a 62-year-old Detroit man in White Lake on July 6, a 21-year-old Highland Township swimmer in Townsend Lake on July 16, and a 20-year-old Detroit man in Taylor Lake on July 20.
