A 21-year-old man was found dead in a Georgia lake this past weekend.
Terrell Shelton, 21, from Pendergrass, went missing in the waters of Lake Lanier near Robinson Park on Saturday, June 13, around 2:40 p.m. local time, according to a news release from the Hall County Sheriff’s Office.
“According to the initial investigation, the 21-year-old man was swimming to an island with friends,” the department wrote. “When the friends looked back, they could no longer see him and believed he had gone underwater and did not resurface.”
Authorities found his body in about 14 feet of water around 11:30 p.m. and recovered it using a remotely operated vehicle.
“Honestly I was shaking, I was freaking out,” Calista Shelton, Terrell’s sister, told ABC affiliate WSB. “My brother is a good swimmer. How could this happen? I don’t know what could have happened with the timeframe of him going to that island.”
Calista organized a GoFundMe in memory of her brother.
“Our family is devastated by this sudden and unimaginable loss,” she wrote. “He was deeply loved by his family, friends, and everyone who had the privilege of knowing him. His kindness, laughter, and presence brought so much joy to those around him, and the void left behind is impossible to put into words.”
“Terrell, I wish I had more time with you,” she wrote in a separate Facebook tribute. “I wish we could have one more conversation, one more laugh, one more memory. You will always be my brother, and I will carry you with me for the rest of my life.”
“Please keep our family, his boyfriend, and everyone who loved him in your thoughts and prayers as we navigate this devastating loss,” she added.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’s website states that Lake Lanier boasts over 690 miles of shoreline and 76 recreational areas and is open to activities such as “picnicking, camping, boating, swimming, hiking and fishing.”
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources has also recorded 203 swimming- and boating-related deaths in Lanier between 1994 and Oct. 2020. Some people have even described the body of water as “haunted” or “cursed,” reported CNN, The Guardian and Yahoo News.
Shelton’s death marked the seventh drowning in Lake Lanier this calendar year.
His drowning death remains under investigation.