Group of friends were boating (6 in the vessel).   Because of the hot weather, they would ride around the lake, stop the boat and jump out and swim, then get back in and just ride around the lake and  stop and swim at different spots.  They did not stay in the water long, since the boat would drift, just enough to cool off,  for a minute or two. They could not anchor the boat since they had left the anchor in the truck.  At one point the victim is the last one out of the water and just behind one passenger who is climbing back on board. He even makes a joking remark to the person who is climbing on board. He was known to play jokes on them.  The person climbing on board tells victim to "shut up".  When passenger looks back, victim is nowhere to be seen.  They had heard no sound, no splash, no bubbles, nothing. They thought he was playing a joke on them, and waited for a short while expecting him to come up on the other side of the boat.  But he did not. Actually, according to witness, they were so close to shore, the victim could have swam to shore and popped up there to make fun of them, and he kind of expected that and looked at the shoreline. But he did not pop up.  Two passengers then jumped in the water to find him, but could not.  They called 911 and waited, drifting in the boat at the same place. 

When officers arrived and started looking, they found a beer bottle close by the location where the victim had gone under.  Friends on board said victim was an alcoholic and had been drinking all day, but they were used to that, since he always did that, starting early in the morning. They did not find his body and the search was continued the next morning early.  

At about 3pm the divers located his body, removed it from the water and eventually had the deceased's son come over to identify him.  Upon examination it was evident that the face of the victim had been hit by what appeared to be a boat propeller.  He had two to three distinct slashes across his face and the right side of his face was almost completely torn off.  After noticing what appeared to be prop damage to the body of the victim, the boat and propeller were towed (with permission of the owner) and propeller was sent also to person who did the autopsy. 

(Note: The report does not state the cause of death.  It neither states if the victim was hit by the propeller of Vessel #1 or an unknown vessel, perhaps after he died, and during the night.  Nor does it state the hit from the propeller caused the death. He could have been dead before from a heart attack, or something else.)

Brookfield Township           