WATERFORD TWP. (WWJ) -- The Oakland County Sheriff's Office is investigating the death of a man who was found under a dock in a Waterford Township lake Monday night.
At around 9:40 p.m. on Dec. 9, sheriff's officials say a 911 call came in from a witness who heard someone yelling for help and thrashing in the water in Maceday Lake.
The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue Team (SSRT) responded to the scene, in 3700 block of Austinwood, along with Waterford Township police.
A short time later, 61-year-old Joselito Estonilo Garcia was found by a Waterford officer, unresponsive in the water under a dock.
CPR was performed and Garcia was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead early Tuesday, the sheriff's office said.
SSRT searched other areas of the lake after being told there may have been another person in the water, but no one else was found.
Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said it's not yet known exactly where or how Garcia went into the lake, and that investigators believe alcohol may have been a factor.
An autopsy was scheduled for Tuesday.
The sheriff noted that, if confirmed, this would be the 13th drowning in an Oakland County lake this year.
“This has been an extremely tragic year for drownings in Oakland County,”
Bouchard said, in a statement. “Sadly, many threads are common with drownings and often include alcohol consumption. That is under investigation in this case as well. We urge people to be safe in and around water.”
Sheriff’s divers were assisted by the Southeast Michigan Dive Group, the Livingston County Dive Team and the Huron Clinton Metro Parks Search & Rescue Team.