Man who died following Lake Pleasant boat incident identified by MCSO

MARICOPA COUNTY, Ariz. - Officials with the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office have identified the person who drowned following a boat incident at Lake Pleasant.

In a brief statement released in April 25, officials say 20-year-old Neria Aranbayev was found on the night of April 24, about 21 feet below the surface of Lake Pleasant.

"There [are] no signs of foul play," read a portion of the brief statement.

In an earlier statement, Sgt. Calbert Gillett with the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office further detailed the incident, writing that, "We had an adult male who swam from a boat to shore and attempted the swim back when he went under and didn’t resurface. This incident happened at the Agua Fria arm area at Lake Pleasant. Deputies are currently searching."

The search was initially conducted by rescue crews with the Peoria Fire and Medical Department. After 30 minutes of not being able to find the man, the search was handed over to crews with the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office.

"Several people were on one boat that was anchored. Several people were in the water swimming and one person was in distress. That person is unaccounted for and MCSO will handle the incident from here," Cpt. Mark Barbee with the Peoria Fire and Medical Department said. "The friends couldn't get to the person in time."

Initially, Peoria Fire said the report was a crash between two boats, but that has since been ruled out.

"Some time went by, and before they called 911 and by time our fireboat got to them, this person had already been under for some time," Cpt. Barbee said.

He offers some warnings for those who plan to head to the lake as Arizona heats up.

"We always want you to know when you're out on the water, you have a cell phone handy, and everyone should have a floatation device," he advised.