Man Dies at Toby Keith concert

Darien, NY -- The body of a man was found in a small lake near Darien Lake Theme Park early Sunday morning.

Genesee County Sheriff's deputies say William "Billy" Sutherland, 33, of Bradford, PA, attended a concert at Darien Lake Performing Arts Center Friday night. He got lost from his friends. His friends looked for him for several hours but eventually returned home to Pennsylvania.

When his friends and family had not heard from Sutherland, they returned to Darien Lake to search for him and file a missing person's report. Scuba divers found Sutherland's body around 1:30am Sunday in Sunshine Lake, which is a small body of water within the parking areas at the theme park.

Police are investigating the incident but they said it does not appear to be a suspicious death.

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Comment by Sal on September 7, 2009 at 8:57pm: Not sure if I remember that story Connie, but between you, Carla and Phil that guy was lucky that he fell into such good hands. ;)

Comment by Jo mi on September 7, 2009 at 5:24pm: wow how sad i cant believe that his friends actually left him

Comment by PKL on September 7, 2009 at 1:50pm: I've been very fortunate with concerts to be priviledged to meet people and out of pure repect for these people I went home with the one that brought me...I am sorry even if Kidrock asked me I would still be going home with the one that brought me...You can never go wrong (it's a song a OLD song) I think emmy lou harris songs it. I couldn't imagine leaving to find out someone had died that to me would be a heart breaker. also to leave someone incapacitated and not being able to naviagate that is AWFUL...COnnie JO...ya seem like my kind of people... ;)

Comment by Connie Jo on September 7, 2009 at 3:11am: And yes, Toby Keith is a very nice & compassionate guy. I had the privilage of meeting him & Shania Twain when they were debuting their first CD's...way back around 1990 or so. They were with the same record company then, Mercury I think it was...& touring together on a promotional tour for up & coming Mercury artists...no one knew who they were really way back then, haha.

Comment by Connie Jo on September 7, 2009 at 3:06am: I gotta add...that Carla & Phil hung around with us too, until the ambulance came. They drove separate, but wanted to follow us to the hotel. We were late getting to the hotel after party...but they were cool with it, more than understood. :)

Comment by Connie Jo on September 7, 2009 at 2:55am: OMG!! This so reminds me of what happened at the Nashville 04 Kid Rock concert!

Sally, you might remember my posting the story at KRAA. We were hanging with Carla & her hubby Phil. When the concert ended I noticed this guy, likely in his 30's...sitting on one of the nearby benches crying, shaking & sweating terribly, it was October & cool! I asked him if he was okay, it took him a while to get words out I could understand, but he said he wasn't okay, that his friends had left him there, and he didn't know what to do. He was a fricken mess, no doubt about it. I sat down beside him and asked if I could call family for him. He said he lived a few hours away, and had no one to come get him. He told me someone had given him something to drink, and he thought it was laced with drugs, and that he was very sick. I worried he was ODing!

Eventually he told me he was afraid to call his wife, but I convinced him to let me call her, and so he managed to give me the number. The poor wife wasn't upset with him, rather his 'asshole' friends for leaving him, especially that incoherent and sick. I told her I was gonna call security and promised to stay with him until he was in safe hands. Security had the venue's EMS on duty come look at him, and they determined he could be ODing from his symptoms. I stayed with him until they had him safely in the ambulance, then called his wife back with info for which hospital in Nashville they took him too.

Well, a few days later once back home...my phone rang, and it was the guys wife...she had my number still on her phone from when I called her. She called to thank me, and told me her hubby did indeed OD but was going to be okay, and she thought he'd be coming home from the hospital in another day or so. She said the friends were no longer considered friends, understandably so. :(

I just can't imagine someone leaving their friend behind like that. I would've called security right then & there at that Toby Keith concert if I couldn't find a friend long after a concert ended & crowds cleared. That makes no sense...why did they wait until the next day?...the guy was missing that night! :(

Comment by Eva n chey saw kid rock on 7/14 on September 6, 2009 at 11:28pm: omg!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! thats awful im a 15 minute drive to bradford how very sad for everyone involed i like toby kieth to

Comment by AnnieBo on September 6, 2009 at 8:52pm: This is a very sad thing. I wouldn't leave until my friend was found.

Comment by BRENDA on September 6, 2009 at 8:29pm: they must be.. or at least they should be.. i could never leave without my friends

Comment by Sal on September 6, 2009 at 7:53pm: Thing I don't understand is how is friends could leave without him to PA, they have to be feeling like crap today.