Dennis Joseph Michel died assisting in an attempt to save Jacob B. Seeman from drowning, Camdenton, Missouri, August 1, 2016.
Seeman, 40, jumped from a dock in the Niangua Arm of the Lake of the Ozarks to retrieve a boat that was drifting from the dock. After a few strokes, he struggled in the water and called out for help, alerting his brother-in-law, Michel, 46, analyst of Ankeny, Iowa, and Michel’s wife.
From the dock, Michel jumped into the 10-foot-deep water and swam to Seeman, joining Michel’s wife, who had swum out from the bank. Michel placed an arm around Seeman’s upper body as his wife held Seeman by the waist, but Seeman continued to struggle. The men submerged.
Firefighters arrived after Michel’s wife reached safety at the dock, and a dive team recovered Seeman’s and Michel’s bodies within three hours at a point about 75 feet from the dock. They had drowned.
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