The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office has released details about a drowning that happened last Saturday in Galloway Lake, behind the Rodeway Inn on Opdyke Road in Auburn Hills.
The victim was identified as Juan Manuel Aranda, 28, of Brownsville, Texas. According to the sheriff’s office, Aranda was fishing off a kayak and apparently fell into the water. He was not wearing a life jacket at the time.
The Oakland County Medical Examiner’s Office told The Oakland Press that autopsy results show Aranda died from drowning, which was determined to be an accident. The sheriff’s office said the incident is still under investigation but it doesn’t appear to be anything suspicious.
A 911 call at around 7:40 p.m. on Saturday reported the drowning. Aranda’s body was located in 20 feet of water, approximately 250 feet from shore, the sheriff’s office said.
The sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team assisted Auburn Hills police and the Southeast Michigan “Strike Team” dive group in the recovery, the sheriff’s office said, which included sonar-equipped rescue boats.
Aranda’s death was the second reported drowning in Oakland County over the Memorial Day holiday weekend. The other occurred earlier on Saturday at Holly State Recreation Area, when an 11-year-old boy died. As reported by Michigan State Police, the boy was in the water with an inner tube floatation device, about 10 feet from shore, when a child on shore saw him go under the water, come up and call for help, and go back under again.
The child on shore then called for help and people on the beach started searching the water. A crew from Oakland County’s marine division arrived and joined in the search, and the child was located in the water at 7:25 p.m., police said. CPR was started on the child, who was then transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead, police said. The lake is not patrolled by lifeguards.
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