Authorities are investigating the drowning death of a retired doctor whose body was found in the lake of a Mississippi country club.

The body 72-year-old John Cope, a retired orthopedic surgeon who resided in a home on the golf course, as discovered floating in a lake at the Briarwood Country Club in Meridian on Friday morning.

Local law enforcement and first responders were called to the scene around 11 a.m. after a report of a body in the water.

Lauderdale County Coroner Stella McMahan identified the deceased as Cope, who was pronounced dead at the scene from what appears to be an apparent drowning.

An investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death is ongoing.