Media

Man Drowns Near Shelby Forest

Release Date: June 29, 2005

Shelby County Sheriff’s Detectives say a man apparently drowned last evening at a lake behind his home near Shelby Forest.

John Thomas Bolgeo (pronounced Bo-GEE-O), 36, who lived in the 6100 block of Benjestown Road in North Shelby County, had taken a boat into the lake to check on fishing trot lines.

Relatives last saw him in the boat about 7 p.m. When he did not return to his home, his father and brother went looking for him.

Just after 9 p.m., relatives saw Bolgeo’s boat but he was not in it. Moments after they began their search for him, they located his body near one of the fishing lines.

Family members they say Bolgeo suffered from a medical condition that caused seizures. They believe a seizure might have caused him to fall out of the boat.

Detectives say he was not wearing a life vest.

The Shelby County Medical Examiner will make an official ruling on Bolgeo’s death following their investigation.