Dearborn man missing, presumed dead, after going under water in Lake Erie
A Dearborn, Michigan, man is missing and presumed dead after going under water in Lake Erie Sunday near Sterling State Park.
The Monroe County Sheriff's Office is treating the incident as an accidental drowning, according to a report from the agency.
The victim is Hussein Afi Hassoun, 23, from Dearborn. He had not been located as of Monday morning, deputies said.
Monroe County Central Dispatch got a 911 call about 5:49 p.m. Sunday from a man reporting that Hassoun was missing in the water after jumping from a 34-foot white Baja boat. He was not wearing a life jacket at the time. The boat was in Lake Erie, several hundred yards east of the Sandy Creek / Sterling State Park boat channel at the time. Hassoun and four other adults had jumped into the water to swim, but Hassoun began to struggle and went under water. The other boaters lost sight of him.
A marine rescue team from the Frenchtown Township Fire Department located the boat and escorted it back to safety.
In response to the accident, the Monroe County Sheriff's Office Dive Team, along with dive teams from the Southeast Michigan Dive Group, used side scan sonar technology to begin an extensive search of that section of the lake. The search was suspended at 11 p.m. due to unsafe wave conditions, with plans to resume the search Monday.
Frenchtown Township Fire Department, Monroe City Fire Department, U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection worked on the scene with the assistance of the Oakland County Sheriff's Office, Wayne County Sheriff's Office, Downriver Mutual Aid and Van Buren Township Dive Teams.
Anyone with information that can help first responders locate his body is asked to call 734-243-7070.