21-year-old drowns in Townsend Lake, sheriff addresses recent spike in drownings

A man drowned in Townsend Lake in Independence Township on Tuesday afternoon.

The victim, a 21-year-old from Highland Township, was swimming in the lake with another male friend when he went underwater but did not come back up, the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office said.

The sheriff's office said the man was fit, not under the influence of alcohol or drugs and was known to swim across the lake at times.

Townsend Lake is a small, private lake with no public access unless it's from the nearby Oakland County Sportsmen's Club.

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“They were athletically fit, young men. Wanted to challenge themselves, swim cross the lake," Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said. “At some point during the swim, one became fatigued it appears and went under.”

The department’s search and rescue team was dispatched to the lake near Dixie Highway and Waterford Road around 1:40 p.m. They found the victim around 2 p.m. about 100 feet from the shore in 20 feet of water.

Paramedics provided aid. The victim was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

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“My team upon notification got out there within a minute of arriving, they located him, got him out of the water as quickly as possible... and unfortunately, the emergency medical service couldn’t revive him," Bouchard said.

Bouchard says there are at least 450 lakes in Oakland County and the sheriff’s office has been busy. There have been at least five drownings this summer alone and even more incidents that were just too close.

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"We’ve had a spike. I think in part because it’s been very warm and people are gravitating to the water," Bouchard said.

Meanwhile, the Independence Township community is shocked to learn of the most recent incident. The lake is small enough for swimmers to cross without incident.

Jim Helm has lived on the lake for 25 years, has swam across the lake before and has never heard of a drowning there before.

"I have two boys, teenagers. They swim out here. I mean, you would never think it would happen," he said. “My heart goes out to everyone that knows, loves and cares for that person.”