ALGOMA – A 26-year-old local restaurant owner who drowned in a creek off the Ahnapee River on June 4 was apparently walking away from an early morning crash but mistakenly walked into the water.

The Algoma Police Department said Gustavo Angel Aldama Cuellar died in what Police Chief Randy Remiker said appears to be an accidental drowning. Remiker confirmed the identification after meeting with Cuellar's family Monday afternoon, and an obituary for Aldama Cuellar appeared in the Sunday edition of the Green Bay Press-Gazette.

According to the obituary, Aldama Cuellar, a native of Mexico, moved three years ago to Algoma, where he owned and operated Dairy Dean's Family Restaurant and Ice Cream Parlor, 824 Fourth St., which he bought from Dean and Patti Tenor in the fall of 2017.

Remiker said an investigation showed Aldama Cuellar was out having drinks with friends the night before, June 3. At about 1 a.m. June 4, his vehicle crashed into a trailer parked on Perry Street. Aldama Cuellar got out and talked to the owner of the trailer but then walked away before police arrived.

Security cameras from nearby businesses showed Aldama Cuellar apparently trying to walk home, Remiker said, but he instead walked into the river.

"It was one of those accidental, tragic situation," Remiker said.

The police department received a call the afternoon of June 4 after someone saw Aldama Cuellar's body in the water near where it is crossed by Perry Street. Police and fire squads responded, but Aldama Cuellar was dead at the scene.

An autopsy was completed Monday, although the toxicology report is pending.

Contact Christopher Clough at 920-741-7952, 920-562-8900 or [email protected].

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This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Algoma drowning victim identified as local restaurant owner