By David Fleet
Editor
Atlas Twp.- On Friday afternoon, Genesee County dive teams recovered the body of a 21-year-old Southfield man from the Atlas Millpond near Gale and Perry roads. NaQuan Khalid-William Baker was found by the dive team about 50 feet from shore.
Baker, along with two other individuals were fishing in a rowboat when the boat capsized, according to a Genesee County Sheriff’s press release. As the three attempted to swim to shore, the victim, Baker began to struggle. The two others tried to help him but they eventually lost sight of him, police said.
Genesee County Sheriff Captain Richard Cronkright said the three were not wearing life jackets and alcohol was a factor.
“The individuals were trespassing and they borrowed the boat,” said Cronkright.
The township fire department responded to the drowning on Thursday evening.
“The firefighters that responded did great,” said Township Fire Chief Steve Bullen. “The homeowners around the mill pond opened their house to us, they fed us, they gave us water. They gave us the keys to their boats and said ‘do what you have to do.’”
The township firefighters made three double trips around the pond, he said.
“We received the call at 10:15 p.m. on Thursday and I did not get home until 3:30 a.m. the next morning,” he said. “We went back at 7:30 a.m.and went another 10 hours that day.”
The firefighters used cold water/ice rescue suits designed to keep the rescuer warm, dry, and afloat during rescue incidents.The Genesee County Sheriff and Michigan State Police dive team responded with two cabled submersibles deployed near the drowning location.
“They found him through the camera,” said Bullen. “They also found a variety of other items at the bottom of the pond, bricks, a bike and a wagon wheel.”
GCSD Cpt. Cronkright was one of the divers in the water during the search.
“When we arrived at the pond the boat was semi-submerged,” said Cronkright. “We had near zero visibility underwater and the pond is very weedy. When you touch any weed underwater it kicks up particles that make matters worse. All we could do is work back and forth in a fan pattern, just feeling around.There was very little current at the bottom of the pond, it was stronger near the surface,” he said.
Each team of two divers could stay under for 26 minutes. The divers used about 20 tanks of air.
“It was very easy to get hung up on the weeds,” he said. “The conditions were challenging.”
At about 8 a.m., Saturday the Michigan State Police dive team was called to the pond. The team deployed a tethered drone in the water with a camera and sonar.
“The drone actually ran into the victim,” said Cronkright. “That’s how they found him.”
Cronkright expressed his thanks to the community for their assistance.
“The neighborhood around the pond was fantastic,” he said. “They opened up their homes and bought us dinner too. Thank you for the support.”