ONEIDA COUNTY, N.Y. -- The Oneida County Sheriff's Office is investigating a drowning near Sylvan Beach.

Deputies say Francis Tobiasz, 72, of Saquoit fell overboard around 1:30 Sunday afternoon, when his boat hit a wave. Passengers on board immediately threw life jackets into the water to aid Tobiasz, but he was not able to grab hold of any of them.

Frederick M. Houston, of Verona Beach, was looking on from a separate boat, and decided to take matters into his own hands, jumping into the water to try and rescue the stranded boater.

Tobiasz was pulled onto a party barge with the help of Houston and several people who were on board the party barge. He was given C-P-R, but later died at the hospital.

Investigators are treating the death as accidental, and are unsure if Tobiasz had any prior medical issues, or if he struck his head while falling overboard.

They also say that Tobiasz was not wearing a personal floatation device at the time of the incident.