Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


A local dive team came to the rescue of a Milford Township man for an unusual type of recovery mission.

The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office says Brandon Smith was doing what many fathers might do on a lazy Sunday in July if they had the chance - he went for a float on a lake with his 6-year-old son. But when his son jumped off their raft in Sunrise Lake in Milford Township, what happened next was not something he might have expected. His father’s $80,000 prosthetic leg somehow became separated from its owner and plunged to the bottom of the lake, nearly 50 feet straight down.

After 17 surgeries to repair a leg that was injured six years ago after Smith had fallen from a tree while hunting, the prosthetic leg he had had for a month and provided him with mobility was gone. While he tried, he wasn’t able to get it.

Smith’s father-in-law Tim McIntosh contacted the Sheriff’s Office for help.

Sgt. Brian Burwell, who heads up the Sheriff’s Dive Team, met with the family on Monday. Using GPS coordinates the family provided as to the approximate location of the prosthesis, the team spent about 40 minutes and identified a location.

On Wednesday, after less than 10 minutes in the water, Deputy Justin Wiegand recovered the prosthesis – which was said to be in surprisingly good shape – at a depth of 48 feet and returned it to the family. They were said to be effusive in their praise for the Dive Team and the Sheriff’s Office.

McIntosh said the team came to the rescue and were so professional, and it was a wonderful experience. Smith took the prosthesis with him to the hospital to have it checked out and to see if similar mishaps can be avoided in the future.

Sheriff Michael Bouchard was pleased by the positive outcome, saying their dive team does an amazing job in a variety of conditions and circumstances. Bouchard said “In this incident, they were able to make a big quality of life difference for this gentleman who obviously would be greatly negatively impacted by the loss of his prosthetic leg. I’m proud of their work every day and especially in this circumstance.”

A press release is attached.