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A dive team Saturday evening recovered the body of a 54-year-old man from a lake at Dobson Ranch Park in Mesa, police said.
He has been identified as Bradley Perry, who police said was "unsheltered" and was at the park daily.
"Bradley was sitting at the ramada watching people play basketball when he saw the basketball go into the water. Bradley went into the water in an attempt to retrieve the basketball," police said in a release.
As he was trying to get back to the water's edge, witnesses told police he appeared to be struggling, went under and never resurfaced, authorities said.
A dive team from the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office worked on behalf of Mesa police and found the body about 5:45 p.m. May 6 in the lake near the Dobson and Guadalupe roads intersection, police said.
He was found in eight feet of water and more than 80 feet from the location where he entered.
The cause of death is being investigated and will not be known until a medical examiner releases a report, according to Mesa police.