Dive team members from Livingston and Washtenaw counties search for the body of Dennis Regal in Zukey Lake this morning.

Lon Horwedel | AnnArbor.com

Divers continued to search this afternoon for a Hamburg Township man who apparently drowned in Zukey Lake on Monday night as he helped save his teenage son from drowning.

Dennis “Denny” Regal, 58, went out on the lake in his 25-foot pontoon boat at 4:30 p.m. Monday with his son Kip and Kip's friend Keegan Forbes, family members said.

Dennis Regal and the two 15-year-olds planned to go for a quick swim before returning to the Regal home for a barbecue. All three jumped in the water. 

The boat wasn't anchored and began to drift away, Hamburg Police Chief Steve Luciano said.

Dennis Regal

"We were only going to go out for a quick second," Kip said. "We were all in one spot. And the boat just completely took off."

While all three know how to swim, Kip said everyone panicked. Keegan swam after the boat, and it took him at least three minutes to get to it, Kip said.

Kip said his father helped him keep his head above water. They took turns taking breaths. His father would go under, and Kip would push off his shoulders to catch a breath. Then Kip would go under and his father would push off his shoulders to take a breath.

It took Keegan about a minute to drive the boat over. By then, Dennis Regal had gone under. Kip was able to muster up enough strength to pull himself up on the boat.

"I was out of air," Kip said. "I don't know how I pulled myself up there. I was passing out almost. I was coughing up water."

Kip said the water was roughly 29 feet deep where his father went under.

Police received a report of a possible drowning at 5:25 p.m. Monday. Divers searched until 10 p.m. Monday and resumed searching at 9 a.m. today, Chief Luciano said.

Several of Dennis Regal's family members were at Lakeland Marina this afternoon, where police had set up a command post. They were prepared for the worst.

Kip credits his father with saving him from drowning. And it wasn't the first time his father had saved someone.

Lori Regal holds onto her son Kip, 15, on the back deck of the Lakeland Marina on Zukey Lake.

Lon Horwedel | AnnArbor.com

About seven years ago, Dennis Regal saved two Detroit men who were drowning at another lake in the area, said Lori Regal, his wife of 16 years. He heard screaming, took his boat out in the water, jumped in and helped the men into the boat, she said.

"He never talked about it after," she said. "He was just real humble."

Dennis Regal has two children and two stepchildren. He is the oldest of five children and grew up in Plymouth, graduating from Plymouth High School in 1969. He attended Detroit Barber College and worked as a barber since he was 19. 

He loved chatting it up with customers, family members said.

"He was probably the most social person you’d ever met,” said his brother John Regal, 46, of Fowlerville. "A social butterfy. Always loved to be around other people. Fun to be around.”

Dennis Regal enjoys camping, boating, mountain biking and other outdoor activities. He's had the boat since May and took it out on the lake whenever possible, his wife said. The two went on cruises in the canals in the morning, she said.

"Just a cheap boat, but some fun, you know," she said. "A party barge."

Dennis Regal is a Detroit Red Wings and University of Michigan hockey fan. He's been active in sports himself, running marathons and playing in men's recreational hockey leagues in the area, family members said. He also served in the Air Force Reserve, family members said.

Lori Regal said her husband doesn't have life insurance. Donations can be made in care of Lori Regal at TCF bank on Main Street in Dexter Village.

Lee Higgins can be reached by phone at (734) 623-2527 and email at leehiggins@annarbor.com.