RANKIN COUNTY, Miss. (WJTV) - The family of a Brandon man, who was found deceased in the Reservoir this weekend, remembered their father as a loving man.

Steve Cermak was found dead around 10:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 3 after falling into the water. Officials believe the 62-year-old experienced a medical emergency.

Steve's sons, Donovan and Hunter, said everyone loved their father, who would bring his pet cockatoo Buddy on the Reservoir.

“Every time he pulled up, people got excited, and he'd give them a little, 'Woo hoo,' and he'd have his bird Buddy with him," said Donovan.

Steve was out on the water with Buddy on Saturday before he fell in the Reservoir. Donovan said his father's girlfriend tried to call Steve, but she couldn't get him on the phone. Donovan also tried calling his father, but he didn't receive a response. He said he drove to the Reservoir and saw his father wasn't on the boat.

“I mean, it was just really hard, and, you know, the cops came, and they ended up finding him in the Reservoir a couple hours later. So, it was... man, it's really rough," said Donovan, who was close with his father.

“They're saying that it was a pulmonary embolism, I guess a blood clot, and they didn't find any water in his lungs or in his airways. So it, you know, that was one of the things that broke my heart. I thought that he had drowned, and I don't think that that's the case. I think that he passed away and fell into the water," Donovan stated.

Donovan said he lost his mother at 26, and his brother lost his mother at six-years-old.

“He was all we had left, so this is... this is rough," he said.

Anytime the sun was out, Steve and Buddy were cruising the waters several times a week. Donovan said his father had Buddy for about a year, and he was like another son to Steve.

“They were a team together. They goofed off together, and they'd talk smack to one another, and he'd beg dad for cookies. And they were just they were wild together, but he loved him, and Buddy loved my dad," he stated.

Buddy has been missing since the day Steve died. His sons hope the cockatoo will be found.