Lingering Deaths Courtesy of Manistee's Police Department

[XLFD]

Dying in the city of Manistee can be a mysterious business thanks to the secret-keepers at their inept police department (sometimes inaptly called public safety department). 

Lee Pat Milks gets shot repeatedly by a trespasser on his property that wouldn't leave when repeatedly told to do so.  The flimsy, evolving narrative released the day of that shooting changes until a more officer-friendly narrative emerges at a news conference the late Friday afternoon before an Independence Day weekend, three months later.   The City of Manistee is still in the process of blocking the release of the shooting records, defending two lawsuits in the Michigan Court of Appeals to keep these public records from the general public.

On October 28, 2018, a death occurs at the First Street Beach in Manistee and the public is thrown into a tizzy when news reports talk of a hazardous substance being the cause.  More than two days after the fact, the chemical is finally identified and made public, the man's name (an apparent suicide) has never been identified. 

Apparent suicides should be handled like homicide investigations, and it is not uncommon for police to release suicide victim's names pending a complete investigation, especially when the death occurs out in the public square and the public safety has been compromised.  Such disclosures have helped such investigations in the past, and turned apparent suicides into homicide investigations.

So maybe it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise that the Manistee Police Department is once again playing keep away with public information concerning a person dying in Manistee.  TV 7&4

reported on November 26 that:

"Manistee public safety officers were called to reports of a body at the 9th Street boat launch in Manistee on Sunday [November 25].
Upon arrival, officers found the body of an 82-year-old Manistee man.  The cause of death is still under investigation.  An autopsy is scheduled for [today]."

The next day, November 27, several news articles had authorities marking it a suspicious death:

"Manistee police officers are investigating the death of an 82-year-old man whose body was found Sunday. They are calling the death suspicious."

The suspicious death at the docks was unreported on until another full week had passed, when the name and the cause of death was finally released eight days after the autopsy to the news.  

"The body has been identified as Stuart Donald Johnston, 82 of Manistee.  Johnston's body was found at the 9th Street boat launch on November 25.  According to autopsy results, Johnston's cause of death was drowning.  Investigators are asking anyone who visited the area of the 9th Street boat launch on November 24 or 25 to contact the Manistee Police Department."

The man had been immediately identified, the next of kin had been notified, as Mr. Johnston's obituary hit the local paper last Wednesday after being submitted the same day authorities marked the death as suspicious.  

The only thing suspicious is why the Manistee Police Department are releasing this information so tardy, with no reference as to why the autopsy showing drowning as the cause of death was labelled suspicious enough to keep the public wondering for over a week. 

[Willy]

I'm wondering, was Mr. Johnston's body found in the water? If not then how did a man who has drowned get out of the water?

[XLFD]

Like all news releases from the Manistee Police Department, important details and facts are not given to the public.  I wouldn't trust these guys to find the working end of a plastic bag, yet Manistee citizens pay $1.3 million per annum for the prestige of having a police department that hides all the unsavory facts from them. 

Here's a satellite view of the area where the death occurred, one would think the questions you asked would be pertinent to see whether this was an accident or not.  One should also note that Stu had ran a couple of bars over the years and may have made some rough acquaintances in the process, so if I was investigating, I would be trying to rule the suspicious angle out and clarifying why it wasn't the case, unlike MPD's modus.