Oakland County Dive Team Saves Man's $80K Prosthetic Leg From Bottom Of Lake

MILFORD TOWNSHIP, MI — Oakland County officials saved a man's $80,000 prosthetic leg after it fell to the bottom of a Milford Township lake on Wednesday, the Oakland County Sheriff's Office said.

Officials said Brandon Smith was on a float with his son in Sunrise Lake when his son jumped from the raft, somehow causing Smith's prosthetic leg to separate and fall into the lake, plunging nearly 50 feet to the bottom.

"He tried, but he just couldn’t get it," Brandon’s father-in-law, Tim McIntosh said.

Smith injured his leg six years ago after he fell out of a tree while deer hunting, officials said. He needed a total of 17 surgeries. He had just received the prosthetic leg last month, and it provided him with mobility, officials said.

McIntosh and his wife contacted the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office for help, officials said.

That's when the sheriff's dive team, headed by Sgt. Brian Burwell, met the family on Monday and used GPS coordinates the family provided to find the approximate location of the prosthetic leg, officials said.

After it took about 40 minutes for the team to find a location, the team returned Wednesday to search for the prosthetic leg, officials said.

Deputy Justin Wiegan dove toward the bottom of the lake and found the prosthetic leg submerged under 48 feet of water, officials said.

It took Wiegan less than ten minutes to find the leg, which was "in surprisingly good shape," officials said.

"You guys came to the rescue," McIntosh said. "They were so professional. They were so good. 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, officials said.

"Our dive team does an amazing job in a variety of conditions and circumstances," Oakland County Sheriff Mike 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."