Dogs swimming near empty boat lead to discovery of drowning victim, Michigan cops say

A boater spotted a pair of dogs paddling near an empty boat in Lake St. Clair, with their owner nowhere to be seen, Michigan police told news outlets.

They rescued the dogs, pulling them out of the water and bringing them aboard, police told TV station WWJ. A 17-foot fishing boat sat a short distance away, its aluminum body floating roughly 300 yards from where the dogs were found, police told TV station WWJ.

Music was playing but there was nobody on board.

A caller dialed the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office around 7:50 p.m. on Aug. 1, and deputies responded with help from the Coast Guard, WJBK reported.

While crews combed the water, Coast Guard officials identified the owner of the boat, 49-year-old James Hauff, and reached out to his family, according to the station. He went out on his boat, officials said, and brought his dogs with him.

Divers found Hauff dead after midnight the following morning, his body eight feet below the surface, half a mile from the Black Creek river on the lake’s northwest side, officials told WDIV.

Investigators don’t know how he ended up in the water, the outlet reported, but he wasn’t wearing a life jacket.

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