OXFORD VILLAGE ? An Oxford man was tragically cut down in the prime of his life Saturday morning when he accidentally drown in Scripter Park’s Round Lake.
Travis Carl Towsley, 23, drown while attempting to swim across the frigid lake, according to the Oxford Village Police report.
Towsley, a former student of the Lake Orion school district, was at the lake with two friends. One of the friends told police Towsley entered the water at the beach area and waded in up to his waist.
‘When he got used to the water temperature,? Towsley told his friends ‘he was going to swim across the lake,? according to the report.
One of the friends told police Towsley ‘swam about half way across when he began to struggle and then went under the water out of sight.?
One of the friends ‘removed some of his own clothing, entered the water and attempted to locate and rescue (Towsley), but had to exit the water due to the temperature and minimal visibility,? the report stated.
The temperature of the water was reported to be approximately 40 degrees Farenheit.
When village police arrived at the scene at 8:21 a.m. (after being dispatched at 8:20 a.m.), they were informed Towlsey ‘had been under the water approximately 10 to 15 minutes.?
Village police contacted the Oxford Fire Department and Oakland County Sheriff’s Department’s Marine Patrol Dive Unit.
Oxford firefighters arrived on scene at 8:25 a.m., and using flotation suits, two of them attempted to locate the victim from the surface, but they were unsuccessful due to minimal visibility in the water, according to the police report. A firefighter was also deployed in a dive suit to aid in a bottom search for the victim.
The sheriff’s Marine Patrol Dive Unit arrived on scene at 8:35 a.m. and deployed a diver along with additional search members, the report stated.
At 9:15 a.m. a sheriff’s rescue diver located and recovered Towsley’s body. The victim was found in 15 feet of water, about 25 feet from shore, the report stated.
Paramedics from American Medical Response (ambulance service) attempted to revive Towsley at the scene. Towsley was transported to POH, where Emergency Room personnel further attempted to revive him, but were unsuccessful.
The Oakland County Medical Examiner ruled the cause of death was an accidental drowning.
Towsley was employed at the Cottage Inn Pizza in downtown Oxford.
Towsley is survived by his mother Christina Hamp, of Oxford; father Carl Towsley, a truck driver from Manton; and three brothers ? Eric Hamp, 21, serving in the United States Air Force in Texas; Joshua Hamp, 18, and Jacob Willis, 6, both of Oxford.