WATERFORD TWP. (WWJ) -- The Oakland County Sherriff's Office is urging pleasure boaters to exercise caution out on the lakes after multiple drownings this summer, and a close call this week.
In a news release out Friday, Sheriff Mike Bouchard said it's been a difficult year on Oakland County lakes, with the Oakland County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team being called out for 11 drownings in 2024.
The sheriff said all indications were that number was going to rise Thursday night, after a 911 call came in about a pleasure boat that was out of control, running in circles in the middle of Elizabeth Lake in Waterford Township.
The 17-foot boat was unoccupied, the caller said, and there appeared to shoes floating in the water.
“When my phone went off with the emergency message on a report of unoccupied boat running in circles in middle of lake at full throttle and clothing floating in the water, I thought this sure sounds like we’re going to have another tragic death,” said Bouchard said. “Our team activated and thankfully by sheer luck, that was not the outcome.”
Assuming that at least one person must have fallen overboard. SSRT quickly deployed multiple rescue boats, along with a diver, a helicopter and a drone unit, the sheriff's office said.
Shortly after the call came in, the boat – with the throttle fully forward – ran out of gas. Deputies who recovered the vessel, towing it to shore, found the safety lanyard was attached to the key which was still in the ignition. Life jackets were also found stowed away on the boat.
While the search was underway, deputies used the boat registration to track down its owner, a 35-year-old Waterford Township resident, and called him at home.
The boat owner told deputies that he and his passenger, a 24-year-old Wixom woman, were thrown from the boat when they hit a wake. Both were able to swim an unknown distance to shore. Neither wore a life jacket, the sheriff's office said.
Bouchard said while investigators believe alcohol was involved, he said the primary factor was the owner’s inexperience operating a boat.
Bouchard said the evening could easily turned deadly.
“In this instance, we had multiple failures that by the grace of God did not end up with someone seriously hurt or killed,” Bouchard said. “Not wearing personal flotation devices, consuming alcohol and not utilizing a safety lanyard with an auto shut off capability was a recipe for a tragedy. I implore people to use common sense and water safety sense. I am again, very proud
of our team. They were able to safely recover the boat and determine where the occupants of the boat were in a relatively short period of time, thus bringing a large rescue effort safely to a close.”
The incident remains under investigation.
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