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Steven J. Sweeney, of West Bloomfield, was recently found floating face down at Pleasant Lake. Authorities are investigating the circumstances of his death.
Photo by Patricia O’Blenes
WEST BLOOMFIELD — The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue Team responded to an alleged drowning around 6 p.m. Aug. 31 when a man was reportedly found floating face down in Pleasant Lake.
The man was identified as Steven J. Sweeney, 62, of West Bloomfield. According to the Sheriff’s Office, he was not wearing a life jacket at the time of the incident.
Reportedly, several bystanders entered the water and removed Sweeney from the lake before emergency crews arrived.
The county’s search and rescue team assisted first responders from the West Bloomfield Fire Department. Paramedics administered medical care and transported Sweeney to Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased.
The incident is under investigation by the Sheriff’s Office. The Oakland County Medical Examiner’s Office has taken custody of the body. At press time, an autopsy was planned to determine an official cause of death.
This incident follows a similar one where the Sheriff’s Office identified the remains of a man discovered in Pine Lake July 29 as Alphonce Capone Friday, a Southfield resident who had gone missing, leading his mother to file a missing person report Aug. 13. Forensic laboratory analysts with the Sheriff’s Office announced their findings Aug. 21.
The search and rescue operation conducted at Pine Lake July 29 was done in collaboration between the Sheriff’s Office and the West Bloomfield Police. Authorities continue to investigate the case and are asking anyone who saw Friday prior to his disappearance to share what they know.
Friday was described as a Black man believed to be 20-40 years old, standing 6 feet tall and weighing about 140 pounds. When he was found at the lake, he was wearing a white T-shirt, black jogging pants and black Adidas athletic shoes, size 10.
Anyone who may have seen Sweeney alive prior to his passing, or who saw Friday alive from July 27 through July 29 is asked to call the Sheriff’s Office at (248) 858-4940.
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