JACKSON, Mich. – A doctor from Michigan who went missing last week, was found dead in a frozen pond on a property near his residence Tuesday.
Dr. Bolek Payan of Jackson had not been seen since he left Henry Ford Jackson Hospital on Thursday. Family friend Nicole Keiser said Payan, who worked at the hospital, dropped his dogs off with her around 8 a.m. that morning and was expected to pick them up in the evening. Keiser said it was “out of character” for Payan to drive home without getting the dogs, according to WILX-TV
Detectives were able to access the doctor’s home video camera system to facilitate their investigation. The video showed the missing doctor leave his house on foot Thursday afternoon, according to a Facebook post from the Blackman-Leoni Township Department of Public Safety, the New York Post reported.
Dr. Payan worked at Henry Ford Hospital in Jackson County, Michigan. (Google Maps)
Authorities conducted an extensive search of the property involving K9s, drones and law enforcement personnel on foot. When they came up empty, holes were cut in the ice on a nearby pond and divers were deployed.
They found Payan’s body in the icy pond in Jackson County around 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, the Blackman-Leoni Township Department of Public Safety said.
Divers found Payan’s body in a frozen pond by his home. (Screenshot WLNS 6 /
Detectives said they believe Payan was dead before he was ever reported missing due to inclement weather conditions and the fact that he was in the water, Fox News reported.
“Our thoughts are with Dr. Payan’s family and friends,” the department of public safety said.
Dr. Payan’s body was found near his Michigan home. (Screenshot WLNS 6 /
The Jackson County Medical Examiner’s Office will perform an autopsy, which includes a toxicology examination to determine a cause of death.
Meanwhile, it remains unclear exactly how or why Payan ended up in the pond.
The Henry Ford Health website says Payan specialized in psychiatry and graduated in 2017 from Midwestern University Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine in Illinois.
