A man’s body was pulled from the water of Lake Lanier late Saturday night following an extensive search after he was reported missing while swimming, officials say.
His death marks the fifth drowning at the lake in 2026. In 2025, Lake Lanier had six drownings, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. The agency previously said there were seven drownings so far this year, which was incorrect, a spokesperson said Monday.
On Saturday afternoon, 21-year-old Terrell Shelton of Pendergrass was swimming with his friends near Robinson Park in Gainesville to a nearby island, according to the Hall County Sheriff’s Office’s initial investigation.
“When the friends looked back, they could no longer see him and believed he had gone underwater and did not resurface,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
They called for help, and first responders began searching with dive teams and rescue boats in the area, where the water was about 30 feet deep, officials said. Hall County’s dive team suspended its search around 9 p.m.
Department of Natural Resources game wardens located and recovered his body around 11:30 p.m. using a remotely operated vehicle, officials said.
Summer is the busy season for the lake as swimmers and boaters take to the water to escape the heat.
Boating accidents and drownings are all too common for Lake Lanier, which had the most drownings, boating accidents and injuries of all major reservoirs in Georgia last year, according to Department of Natural Resources data. It also had 75 charges of boating while under the influence in 2025.
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