Police speculated the drowning death of a 14-year-old swimmer last week was due to him getting caught in the undertow of the Huron River that goes through Belleville Lake on its way to Lake Erie.
The cold, 70-degree temperature of the lake that day may also have been a factor.
Van Buren Police Captain Gregory Laurain identified the teen as Kasey Farley of Ypsilanti, who had been swimming off the beach in Van Buren Park with his cousin.
The cousin, Fred Hensley, 18, told police he and Kasey were swimming just off the beach area and Kasey went out past the posted warning buoys on his own.
Capt. Laurain said Hensley reported that he looked away and then heard Kasey calling for help and flailing in the water. Then Kasey went under.
Hensley said he asked for help from people on the beach and someone called 911.
Capt. Laurain said police and fire rescue teams responded to a 911 call at 3:12 p.m. on June 16.
The VBT Marine Unit was already on the lake and responded within minutes. The Public Safety Dive Team also responded, along with whatever officers were available.
Officers manning the traffic unit were pulled into regular patrol duties as backup, to go on runs as the emergency efforts unfolded.
Farley reportedly was located at 4:17 p.m. by a diver in about eight feet of water, 200 feet from shore, beyond the buoys.
Attempts to revive him were immediately initiated by fire personnel on the scene as he was pulled into a boat and was continued by paramedics as Huron Valley Ambulance transported him to St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 5:15 p.m.
Hensley told police that Kasey knew how to swim and he did not know what could have happened.
Capt. Laurain said the incident is under investigation by police. He said the autopsy was done by Washtenaw County and they are awaiting the results of the toxicology tests, which “take a while.”
Police said the teens were staying at their grandmother’s home in the area, and the grandmother told a television reporter she did not know they had gone swimming.
Opal Thomas told a Channel 2 News reporter that she wouldn’t have given permission to go swimming and she thought Kasey was in the house with other boys.
Thomas said she was Kasey’s legal guardian and was in the process of adopting him.
While the swimming area of Van Buren Park beach is marked by buoys with a sign warning of deep water and strong current, there is no lifeguard on duty.