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Deputies recover body of drowning victim in Highland Township

Posted at 1:02 PM, Jul 17, 2018
and last updated 2018-07-17 15:16:02-04

Deputies recovered the body of a man who drowned while swimming in White Lake in Highland Township.

Police say the man went underwater near the Highland Recreation area around 4 p.m. on Sunday. 

Around 3:00 p.m., the 55-year-old man got in the water on the south end of White Lake. He was swimming from an unanchored vessel. About 10 to 15 minutes later, the man could not be seen by those on the vessel. 

Witnesses called the Oakland County Sheriff Marine Deputies immediately and the search began shortly after.

Searching continued into early Monday morning and Tuesday morning. The search team used side-scan sonar equipment and divers. With technology, the team located the man's body at 10:20 Tuesday morning and dived 25 feet into the water the retrieve the body, police say.

The Oakland County Medical Examiner's Office took custody of the deceased man at around 11:30 a.m.

Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard confirmed on Tuesday via Twitter that the man's body had been recovered.

"We appreciate the community's patience and support of the family in this tragedy," he said.

White Lake and surrounding roads are now open and boaters may resume normal activity.