A rural Morenci man drowned in a pond  last week in an incident that the Michigan State Police is ruling as accidental.

Jeff Schmidt, 43, was found by police divers April 30 after an unsuccessful search the previous day.

Schmidt had been missing over the weekend. His truck was parked at his brother’s house and his empty fishing boat was found by family members Sunday on a pond off Ridgeville Road, owned by his brother.

Family members expressed concern to  police about Schmidt’s whereabouts that day, said State Police Trooper Whittemore, and a decision to search the pond was made Tuesday.

Whittemore said a crime unit determined that no foul play was involved in the drowning.

“It’s purely accidental at this point,” Whittemore said.