Contrary to what's shown in hyped-up movies, a person who's drowning can't vigorously wave his arms while crying out for help.
In reality, the look of terror on the victim's face, as gulps of water fill the lungs in place of air, is one way to tell if he's in danger.

"This is because the victim's energy-saving instinct is to crouch with arms extended laterally, so witnesses commonly think he's playing," said Sgt. Dan Toth, of the Oakland County Sheriff's Office Marine Division and Dive Team.

Many succumb to this scene on local lakes every single summer, and the water is transformed from a pool of refreshing fun to an overwhelming death trap. It only takes 20-60 seconds for someone who's struggling to slip beneath the sparkling blue surface.

This summer, there have been more than a dozen drownings in southeast Michigan. Last year, Oakland County had 16.

"Water is indiscriminate. Either you're going to float or you won't," Toth said.

"But nearly all of these drownings are preventable."

Prevention

In 2004, there were nearly 4,000 unintentional fatal drownings in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site.

Males accounted for 78 percent of those.

Wearing a properly-fitted life jacket and avoiding alcohol during water or boating activities on lakes, as well as ponds and pools, is the key to prevention, Toth said, noting the most recent Oakland County incident July 8.

Ryan Binno, 22, of West Bloomfield Township, drowned while trying to swim back to a pontoon that had drifted in the wind. Though alcohol wasn't a factor, Binno wasn't wearing a flotation device when he jumped into Cass Lake in Waterford Township for a cool dip.

Just three days before, on July 5, Brenden Cruttenden, 20, of White Lake Township, was trying to swim to a sandbar when friends saw him go under in Pontiac Lake. White Lake Township police Lt. Ed Harris said alcohol may have played a role in his death.

"Drinking impairs judgment and makes individuals overconfident, dehydrates them and hastens fatigue," Toth said, adding that Oakland County statistics mirror nationwide figures regarding male drownings.

"Overall, males can be overconfident in their water abilities. Another factor is peer pressure. When young males see others over their heads, they're reluctant to speak up and say 'I'm not a strong swimmer.'"

The concentrated flurry of local drownings coincides with patterns over the last decade, as well. Drowning seems intense in the summer, due to Michigan's brief boating season, officials say.

"We work really hard all year round to prevent drownings. But we anticipate them because that's what history dictates," Toth said. "It's a phenomena that's been happening for thousands of years."

Still, if someone is struggling in the water, witnesses can help.

Throwing a flotation device or reaching out with something toward the person's chest is the best bet. Jumping in is risky, because the person is likely to hold the rescuer under, in attempts to stay above the surface.

Heroic dive team

During a recent Oakland County Sheriff's Office deep dive practice, Deputy Mike Blaszczak flipped backwards off a 23-foot rescue boat, making a smooth splash and descending 70 feet into Cass Lake.

Blaszczak, 41, of Highland Township, joined the dive team about four years ago, thinking it would be an "interesting new task."

The dive team is charged with evidence retrieval, such as firearms, safes and vehicles.

"But what's most important to the divers is returning loved ones to their families as quickly and as safely as we possibly can," Toth said, adding that for the first search hour, divers are in rescue mode.

After that, they're aiming to recover a dead body.

Blaszczak didn't realize the powerful impact recovering people would have, or the feelings it would bring.

"It's a lot of stress looking for a missing person. The longer time goes by, the worse it gets," Blaszczak said.

"Last week, we were in beds of weeds and couldn't see anything because the weeds surround you. You start panicking. So you have to exert control to stop."

With each monthly practice in various local lakes, Blaszczak and his 11 dive team peers become more proficient and confident.

Throughout this practice, divers were assigned a series of exercises to test their manual dexterity under water, like unhinging combination locks and gathering rings, while monitoring their air consumption, the water temperature and depth on a small computer. They were also rated on working with a partner and communicating with support divers onboard.

They wear about 100 pounds of equipment, including a florescent yellow oxygen tank that holds up to 3,400 pounds of air - enough to stay under for 35 minutes in 30 feet or eight minutes in 120 feet. Red and black rubber dry suits, with thermal wear underneath, insulate their bodies, as temperatures can sink to a numbing 40 degrees.

To prepare for a homeland security crisis, the dive team trains yearly with surrounding municipalities of Macomb, St. Clair and Wayne counties, as well as the U.S. Coast Guard.

Aside from practice, the Oakland County Dive Team has had many pursuits over the last two months alone, salvaging four bodies.

"Coming across a body is eerie. It catches you off guard," said Sgt. Matt Snyder, 39 of Brighton Township. "A lot of times, you can't even see down there, so you're going to feel for someone. And you know when you do."

Only one missing

With more than 1,400 bodies of water and 458 named lakes in Oakland County -- the dive team has recovered nearly every body since its inception in the early 1960s.

But one case stands in the way of a perfect record.

The body of Michael Fura has never been recovered from the 100-foot depth of Cass Lake.

On May 17, 1987, Fura, 28, dropped off the back of his speeding boat into the water and was never seen again. The disappearance of the handsome and successful real estate agent prompted the most extensive search -- with 148 dives -- in the marine division's history.

His body still has not turned up.

Then there's the 1941 case of three young people who were never recovered from Cass Lake -- before the dive team's existence.

Rosie Deni, who was 15 or 16, pregnant Sylvia Soda, 20, along with husband, Steve, drowned 66 years ago on July 4.

"To this day, their bodies rest in Cass Lake. When they went down, they probably sank into a deep crevice," said their cousin James Rizzuto, now 83. He declined to go on the ride that fateful day.

One of the cables on the old motor boat snapped, causing it to sharply turn in a circle, throwing the passengers overboard, said Rizzuto, a retired Pontiac Motors employee from Waterford Township.

Don Deni, 17, who was driving the boat, survived after trying to pull his siblings from the water. In the midst of the fervor, the three slipped back under. A dive team from a neighboring municipality searched for two days.

Rizzuto suspects they got caught in an undercurrent. He sometimes wonders what would have happened if he accepted the offer to go out on the lake.

"I kind of felt sorry for not being there, because probably I could have prevented all of that," Rizzuto said.

The right stuff

Meanwhile, Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard is working to modernize the dive team by obtaining and upgrading state-of-the-art equipment.

The marine division is set to receive a Side Scan Sonar unit, which senses dense objects and people underwater through an electronic imaging system.

"When we have a drowning victim that vanished in a large search area, this critical tool can reach very deep holes, so as not to endanger our divers," Bouchard said.

Oakland County has nine lakes that are more than 100 feet deep, creating poor visibility for divers. A layer of sticky silt on the bottom poses an even greater risk of injury.

For example, with a drifting boat and 25 mile-an-hour gusts of wind in Cass Lake, the largest in Oakland County, it took two days for divers to find Ryan Binno. The Detroit Dive Team's Sonar located him.

In addition, Bouchard is set to upgrade the two-man Hovercraft so it's more user-friendly.

A Hovercraft is an amphibious vehicle designed to travel over any smooth surface including land, ice and water. It's supported by a cushion of low-pressure air, ejected down toward the surface.

The Hovercraft could help save someone from drowning. Who knows -- the Sonar could help solve the Michael Fura mystery.