Two Oakland County men drowned in less than 12 hours over the Fourth of July weekend.

The body of a missing Springfield Township man was recovered from a pond early Sunday following the recovery of the body a man who went missing on White Lake on Saturday evening.

“This has been an extremely busy and tragic weekend for our search and rescue team and our partners,” Sheriff Michael Bouchard said in a release Sunday. “Sadly, all the information we had put out in advance of this weekend about ways to stay safe could’ve prevented these tragedies. I am proud of the skilled efforts that recovered these victims, giving the families closure.”

Oakland County’s search and rescue team, the Southeast Michigan Dive Group and several dive teams from other counties were involved in the searches, the sheriff’s office said.

The body of a Springfield Township man was recovered Sunday after going missing Saturday night.

A 911 caller at 4 a.m. Sunday reported Gerald Vernus Burge, 86, missing. He had last been seen at 5 p.m. Saturday.

A deputy and a K9 went to a home at the 8400 block of Rattalee Lake Road in Highland Township and found Burge’s body in 7 feet of water in a pond. He was pronounced dead on the scene. An autopsy is set for Monday, the sheriff’s office said.

On Saturday, a man, later identified as 49-year-old Jason Dwane Brookshire, went into White Lake about 40 feet from shore around 7 p.m. Saturday and did not resurface.

A 911 caller said Brookshire was on a boat and entered White Lake near the 3400 block of Jackson Boulevard. It was not immediately known why or how he entered the water.

Divers recovered Brookshire’s body late Saturday night in seven feet of water with heavy vegetation about 100 feet from shore. His body was taken to shore where he was pronounced dead.

The sheriff’s office said Brookshire was not wearing a life jacket and alcohol was believed to be a factor in the incident. An autopsy was scheduled.

At least five drownings have now occurred in Michigan in the last three weeks.

A 2-year-old girl drowned in an outdoor pool in Southgate on June 18 and a few days later a 26-year-old man drowned in Cass Lake in Keego Harbor. Majd Baligh Alawdi, a 3-year-old from Dearborn, drowned last week at Lake St. Clair Metropark in Harrison Township.

According to Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project, at least 31 people have drowned in the Great Lakes this year, 15 of them in Lake Michigan.

At least 11 people drowned in Oakland County’s inland lakes by early August last summer, up from four the year before.

Officials called the spike in drownings unusual and highlighted the importance of water safety awareness and having personal flotation devices on boats.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, drowning is the lead cause of death for children between the age of 1 and 4. It is the second unintentional injury death for kids 5- to 14-years-old which contribute to a total of over 4,000 unintentional drownings on average in the United States.