COEUR d'ALENE - A SCUBA diver retrieving golf balls at The Coeur d'Alene Resort Golf Course drowned Tuesday afternoon, the Kootenai County Sheriff's Department said.

Mike McCullough, from Rexburg, was pronounced dead at Kootenai Medical Center around 5 p.m.

His body was pulled from the water around 4 p.m., approximately an hour and a half after he was last seen diving for balls around the course's floating green.

"The lady (driving the boat to the green) said she had seen this fellow go off the back edge of the green to dive for balls but hadn't seen him in an hour and half," said golfer Dr. Steven Leichter.

"We started looking around to see if we could see him," Leichter said. "We looked over the left side of the green and we saw his body limp in the water, under the water, about 15 feet (offshore). But he wasn't moving and there weren't any bubbles coming out."

Leichter and a staff member took a boat out and pulled the body aboard. They took the victim to an adjacent dock. Leichter, a diabetic specialist who said he hadn't done CPR in years, said the body was without gear when it was spotted.

Employees called 911.

An age for McCullough wasn't given, but the sheriff's department said he was believed to be in his mid-20s.

It's unknown how the drowning occurred, or how experienced a diver McCullough was. He was working for a contractor who picks up golf balls and other debris from the lake bottom in the area. Tuesday afternoon his gear was still at the bottom of the lake, said Maj. Ben Wolfinger, of the sheriff's department.

"Our divers will recover that and investigate this as the case goes on," Wolfinger said. "But that's really all we know at this point."

Dozens of golfers and tourists stood by as emergency crews, including the Coeur d'Alene Fire Department, attempted to resuscitate the victim.