Macomb County Sheriff Mark A. Hackel told Rolling Stone that a Harrison Township resident called the police after a jet ski apparently broke down in a canal near Lake St. Clair. Upon checking the area, deputies from the sheriffs marine division saw two females carrying life jackets as they were walking down nearby Jefferson Avenue.

"We didn't determine if there was, in fact, an accident, however, both of them appeared to have been drinking," Hackel said. The deputies could not issue an alcohol test because they had not witnessed either of them driving the jet ski. "We had no real legal means of trying to give them a sobriety or breath test because we don't have the right to do that, technically," he added.

They questioned the two women and found they both had outstanding warrants. Mathers was arrested on an outstanding bench warrant for disturbing the peace in Warren, Michigan, and transported to the Macomb County Jail. After escorting her to the facility, a deputy returned to the sheriff's car and found a "white powdery substance of suspected cocaine" in the backseat, the press release said. Other charges may result pending the results of laboratory tests on the substance.

Hackel said he expects the results within a few days. However, if the tests come back as positive for a controlled substance, the results will not be made public until or if a warrant is issued for her arrest.

Mathers was released the same day after posting $3,000 bond.

The other woman had an outstanding warrant in Huntington Woods, Mich., and was released per that city's police department. Because she was not arrested, the Macomb County Sheriffs Department is not releasing her name.

CHRISTINA FUOCO
(July 9, 2001)