A tragic incident occurred this past weekend as a 20-year-old Detroit man, Marsalis Quintin Carter, drowned after jumping into an Oakland County lake. Carter, listed with residences in both Detroit and Tuskegee, Alabama, was part of a moving crew that had taken a break to swim in Taylor Lake in Rose Township, according to CBS News Detroit.
The Oakland County Sheriff's Office disclosed that the incident occurred on Saturday morning, when Carter and another individual jumped off a pontoon boat. While the other man resurfaced and returned to the boat, Carter did not. Shortly after the call was received at 11:07 a.m., a search involving at least 25 divers from several counties was initiated, which, after 13 hours, ended tragically with the discovery of Carter's body at 12:30 a.m. yesterday, around 300 feet from the shore in 35 feet of water, The Detroit News reported.
The search was arduous due to poor visibility in the water, necessitating the use of various sonar equipment and searching techniques. Divers from Genesee, Lapeer, Livingston, and Wayne counties, along with aviation, and drone units from the Sheriff's Office, were part of the search effort. An autopsy was performed the following day, citing the preliminary cause of death as drowning, shared the officials from the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office in a press release captured by WWJ Newsradio.
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard responded to the incident, emphasizing safety in his statement, "I encourage people to have a personal flotation device on if they are not strong swimmers when they get in the lake, as we have had numerous drownings this summer in similar situations." Bouchard further expounded on the added danger for even competent swimmers that have consumed alcohol in a statement obtained by CBS News Detroit. The weekend's drowning follows a series of similar, tragic occurrences in Oakland County this summer, prompting increased awareness and safety advocacy from local officials.
