21-Year-Old Drowns After Disappearing While Swimming in Georgia Lake

Friends swimming with Shelton toward a nearby island looked back to find him missing, with no cry for help reported.

Published: 6/17/2026, 4:42:40 AM EDT

21-Year-Old Drowns After Disappearing While Swimming in Georgia Lake — Lake Lanier in Georgia in a stock photo. (Shutterstock)

A 21-year-old man drowned at a popular Georgia lake Saturday after disappearing while swimming with friends near a Hall County park, authorities said.

Terrell Shelton, of Pendergrass, Georgia, disappeared in the waters of Lake Lanier near Robinson Park, the Hall County Sheriff's Office said in a news release obtained by NTD News.

Shelton and a group of friends had been swimming toward a nearby island when, at some point, those with him glanced back, and he was simply gone—no cry for help, no sign of struggle, the sheriff’s office confirmed to numerous outlets. They believed he had slipped beneath the surface and never came back up.

His sister, Calista Shelton, was at the lake as crews worked frantically to find him. She told Channel 2 Action News that the situation felt impossible to process.

"Honestly, I was shaking, I was freaking out. My brother is a good swimmer. How could this happen?" she said. "I don't know what could have happened with the timeframe of him going to that island."

The Hall County Sheriff's Office received the first call reporting a possible drowning at approximately 2:40 p.m. Deputies quickly mobilized alongside Hall County Fire Rescue and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, launching an operation that covered both land and water, according to the Hall County Sheriff's Office. The effort included the Hall County Sheriff's Office Marine Unit, Hall County Fire Rescue Marine Rescue 1 boats, and dive teams that searched in approximately 30 feet of water.

As evening fell, officials made the difficult call to suspend dive operations around 9 p.m., with plans to resume at first light Sunday morning.

But the search continued. Georgia DNR Game Wardens and Hall County personnel swept the area using sonar equipment. Shortly after 11 p.m.—nearly nine hours after Shelton first disappeared—a remotely operated vehicle located his body in roughly 14 feet of water. The time was around 11:24 p.m.

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources formally identified the remains as those of Shelton, the agency confirmed to local outlets. A spokesperson for the agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NTD News. The cause of death remains under investigation.

The loss has devastated his family and a wide circle of people who loved him. His sister Calista wrote on Facebook that the final hours had been filled with "hope, prayers, fear, and heartbreak," and that the outcome was not what anyone had prayed for.

A GoFundMe campaign launched in his memory describes Shelton as someone whose "kindness, laughter, and presence brought so much joy to those around him," and notes the family is working to cover funeral and memorial expenses. As of the time of publication, the campaign had raised $2,805 toward a $14,000 goal.

Lake Lanier, a reservoir built in the 1950s in the foothills of the North Georgia mountains, has long been associated with a high number of drowning deaths—earning it a grim reputation among locals.

Shelton's family asked anyone unable to donate to share the fundraiser and keep them in their thoughts.