Midwestern Univ. grad, doctor found dead in MI pond

JACKSON COUNTY, Mich. (WLNS) — A graduate of Midwestern University and doctor of psychiatry was found dead in a Michigan pond Tuesday.

Dr. Bolek Payan, a 2017 D.O. graduate of Midwestern University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Downers Grove, was found dead around 12:30 p.m. in a pond near his home, according to the Blackman-Leoni Department of Public Safety.

Payan worked at Henry Ford Allegiance Hospital in Jackson, Michigan and was reported missing after last being seen leaving the hospital on Thursday, Dec. 22. 

After starting their investigation, detectives got access to his home video camera system and saw Dr. Payan walking away from his home some time in the afternoon the day he disappeared.

Payan’s property, which spanned more than 200 acres, was checked by K-9s, drones and people walking the area, but initially, they couldn’t find a trace of the doctor.

Holes were eventually cut in the ice of a pond near his home on Monday and divers discovered his body on Tuesday.

Detectives think Payan would have been dead before he was reported missing because of winter weather conditions at the time of his disappearance.

The Jackson County Medical Examiner’s Office will do an autopsy and toxicology test to help give more information in this investigation, according to police.