MILLCREEK TWP, Erie County — A Brady Township man died Wednesday, hours after bring pulled from a turbulent Lake Erie.

Ralph Miller, 66, had been swimming with his two teenaged granddaughters near an area called Sara’s Campground shortly before 10 a.m., said Millcreek Township police Capt. Michael Tesone.

“The water was pretty rough,” Tesone said. “Then the tide turned for the worse.”

One of the granddaughters swam to the shore safely and ran to get help for her sister and grandfather who were struggling, Tesone said.

The granddaughter returned to the water with two Good Samaritans: A 17-year-old boy and a 41-year-old woman. By then, the girl’s sister had anchored herself safely above water on a breakwater in the lake, Tesone said.

The girl who was on the breakwater and the 41-year-old woman were able to get a hold of Miller, who had submerged. They pulled him to shore where the woman did CPR on Miller until an ambulance arrived and took him to UPMC Hamot. Miller at that time was described as unresponsive, but breathing.

The Erie County coroner’s office said Miller died at 8:32 p.m. An autopsy was conducted this morning, but the results are not yet available.

Ellen Miller, Ralph Miller’s sister-in-law, said that he and his granddaughters were at the lake on vacation before the girls went to college. She said that it was a trip they regularly made.

“They love the lake,” she said.

She said that Miller and his granddaughters were familiar with that part of the lake and that Miller was an excellent swimmer.

Miller retired in 2011 from APT Technologies in Zelienople, where he worked as an industrial paint maker.

He enjoyed traveling with his grandchildren and volunteering at the Slippery Rock Food Bank. He was an Army veteran of the Vietnam War.

Miller is survived by his wife, two daughters, a brother, a son-in-law and a sister-in-law.

His obituary is on Page 11.

Eagle staff writer John Bojarski contributed to this report.