An attack in 2012 by a swan toppled a Des Plaines man’s kayak, sending him plunging into the water of a retention pond. The aggressive swan, which had been nesting, continued to lunge at the man as he attempted to swim to shore.

He never made it.

Anthony Hensley, 37, a father of two daughters from Villa Park, drowned April 14, 2012, at the Bay Colony condominium complex near Golf Road in unincorporated Maine Township.

The case re-emerged this week when Hensley’s widow on Tuesday filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court against the property management companies that owned and operated the complex.

The bizarre event left his family heartbroken and residents of the condominium complex without a regular in the community.

Hensley was a frequent visitor at the complex, where he was in charge of tending to the mute swans, which had been brought in to control the geese. He often brought his kayak and sometimes his dog to feed and care for the birds.

Amy Hensley’s lawsuit says the negligence of the companies, as well as the homeowners and condominium associations, caused her husband’s death. The companies “should have known the swans are strongly territorial with a dangerous propensity to attack,” according to the lawsuit.

Hensley is seeking at least $50,000 in damages. Her attorney did not return messages seeking comment.

A spokesman for Hillcrest Property Management Inc., one of the companies named in the lawsuit, declined to comment. The other companies named as defendants, Bay Colony Properties and the condo and homeowners associations there, could not be reached for comment. The Bay Colony complex is at 9501 Bay Colony Drive, south of Golf Road and adjacent to Interstate 294.

Anthony Hensley worked for North Barrington-based Knox Swan and Dog, which places the birds in ponds as deterrents to geese. That company is not a part of the lawsuit.