LAKE ST. CLAIR (WWJ) - A 43-year-old man was found alive hours after he went overboard and commandeered a boat in Lake St. Clair.
The situation unfolded around 8:10 p.m. Monday when a woman called 911 and said her friend had just jumped off of a moving boat and into the water.
The woman told dispatchers the man had invited her out on the boat to go drinking and the two spent most of the day out on the lake. They stopped at a restaurant to eat and after they left, the woman requested the man take her back to shore.
"She believed the male became upset because he then left the captain’s seat while the boat was moving and jumped into the lake," police said in a statement.
The woman told dispatchers that she was unable to get the boat stopped and was unfamiliar with Lake St. Clair. Macomb County Marine deputies located the 40’ boat and were able to jump aboard and safely bring the boat to a stop. Both the woman and the boat were taken back to shore.
Officials began to search for the man approximately 2.5 miles out of the Clinton River. Around 1 a.m. Tuesday, a deputy was approached by a man in a boat who identified himself as the person they were looking for. He told police that he had fallen overboard and swam to Strawberry Island. Being unable to locate anyone while on the island, the man commandeered a boat and drove to the emergency boats on the water. He was then transported to a local hospital for evaluation.
Police say an investigation is complete and no criminal charges will be sought.