The Bradenton Beach Police Department responded to an emergency call at 1:05 a.m. Jan. 11 at the city dinghy dock, 200 Bridge St., after boaters, returning from a fishing trip, discovered a body in the water.
Mark Allen Crooks, 63, was found with his right leg caught against a dock piling.
Crooks was a resident of a live-aboard vessel in Sarasota Bay.
BBPD Lt. Lenard Diaz investigated along with three officers, Thomas Ferrara, Devon Straight and Roy Joslin.
Diaz said in a Jan. 12 interview that it appeared as though Crooks might have made a misstep while walking on the dock.
After falling, he surmised, Crooks was unable to right himself, resulting in his death by drowning.
BBPD officers cordoned off the area, interviewed witnesses and informed the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office and medical examiner, who took Crooks’ body.
The results of an autopsy were pending as of Jan. 12.
