Tom Tolen / news@whmi.com

Area law enforcement agencies report that it was a tragic holiday weekend on Metro Detroit lakes with three drownings. One of them occurred at the Holly Recreation Area in Oakland County’s Groveland Township where an 11-year-old boy drowned Saturday.

According to Michigan State Police, the child was playing with another boy near a beach while using an inner tube floatation device when he went under at around 6:30 pm. According to the other child, his companion suddenly surfaced and yelled “Help!” before going under again. At that point, people began searching for the boy, who was found about an hour later just 10 feet from shore. CPR was attempted but he could not be revived.

The boy was rushed to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The victim is not being identified at this time. Police say there is no lifeguard assigned to the beach and stress that children should not go in the water unattended by an adult where there is no lifeguard on duty.

The other drownings occurred at Belleville Lake in Wayne County and Galloway Lake in Oakland County. Police say that 23-year-old Patrick Todd of Van Buren Township was swept away by an undertow in Belleville Lake on Memorial Day. In the other incident, a 28-year-old drowned at Galloway Lake in Auburn Hills Saturday afternoon. No other information was provided by the Oakland County Sheriff’s Dept.