Michigan public safety officers have found the body of a doctor who went missing last week. His body was discovered in a frozen pond near his home on Tuesday.
At approximately 12:30 p.m., divers pulled Boyek Payan’s body out of the icy water after he had been missing for several days, according to a statement made on social media by the Blackman-Leoni Township Department of Public Safety.
Investigators retrieved password-protected security footage from the doctor’s residence on Monday, which showed him exiting his home in the afternoon of Dec. 22.
“The property had been checked with K-9 dogs, drones and on foot. After not locating anything on land, holes were cut in the ice of a pond on the property yesterday and divers located Dr. Payan’s body under the ice today,” the statement said.
According to a family friend, Nicole Keiser, Payan dropped his dogs off with her around 8 a.m. on Dec. 22 and was expected to pick them up that night, the New York Post reported.
She told local media that it was “out of character” for him to drive home without first getting the dogs.
According to detectives working on the case, Payan’s death would have occurred prior to being reported missing, corroborated by weather conditions on the day, as well as the fact that he was in the water.
How Payan ended up in the pond is currently unclear.
Local authorities will be conducting an autopsy and toxicology testing, which will shed further light on the incident.
The Blackman-Leoni Township Department of Public Safety gave thanks to those who assisted in the search for the doctor.
“We would like to thank the Jackson County Dive Team, Michigan Search and Rescue, J-DART, the neighbors, and the public for their assistance during this incident. Our thoughts are with Dr. Payan’s family and friends,” the department said.
Payan had worked at the Henry Ford Jackson Hospital since 2020. According to the hospital’s website, he specialized in psychiatry. He previously attended Midwestern University Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine in Illinois, from which he graduated in 2017, according to the New York Post.