Teen found dead after police foot chase

Investigation is underway

Oakland County sheriff’s deputies are investigating the death of a 16-year-old in White Lake Township after a police foot chase.

White Lake Police officers responded to an alarm at the Tractor Supply Store, 10150 Highland Road in White Lake Twp., about 2 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 3, according to a statement from township officials. They saw two males climbing down from the building’s roof. A foot chase started once the two reached the ground.

Police quickly took one suspect into custody. The 16-year-old continued running into a wooded area. A search using a police K-9 team was unsuccessful.

Sunday afternoon, the teen’s family reported him missing and police conducted a search in the area around his home without success.

Deputies from the sheriff’s dive team recovered the boy’s body from a pond in a wooded area near Maple Heights Drive, north of Highland Road at about 10 p.m. Sunday.

The cause of death remains under investigation.

County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said the county has jurisdiction in the case because the search and rescue team was called.

“This just appears to be a tragic situation where the young man was running … and he ran, unbeknownst to him, into this very mucky water,” he said. “It’s highly possible he couldn’t have even seen what he was running into and the water may have filled his lungs immediately.”

He said an autopsy will determine the teen’s cause of death.

“It just appears to be a very tragic situation. Sometimes good kids make bad decisions and thankfully most of them get a second chance,” he said. “This young man won’t and that’s going to leave a gaping hole in the lives of his family and friends.”