Troy Harden was one of those people who changed a room when he walked into it.
He was young (29), athletic (basketball) and full of charisma — "random" but "funny," with a penchant for small pranks.
"He just had love all around him," friend Dedrick Tillerson said. "And anybody that he interacted with had that kind of compassion for him."
When Tillerson spoke with a reporter Tuesday, it had been 11 days since Harden disappeared on Lake Lanier.
Authorities were still searching for his body.
Few official details about Harden's presumed drowning have been released, but Tillerson said his friend was on the lake Aug. 12 for a "birthday slash going away" party. At some point he went under the water near Aqualand and Port Royal marinas and never came up.
The lake is heavily wooded and reaches depths of 125 feet in that area, Department of Natural Resources spokesman Mark McKinnon said. That, in addition to heavy boat traffic, makes search efforts difficult.
Rangers are still completing "shore, surface and aviation searches" twice a day, McKinnon said Tuesday.
At least 12 people have died on Lake Lanier this year, including a man who fell from a boat less than a week before Harden's disappearance.
Harden was originally from Sparta, a small town about 60 miles west of Augusta, and graduated from the Georgia Military College Prep academy in Milledgeville.
"We are all so saddened to hear of Troy's passing," Principal Col. Pam Grant told that city's Union-Recorder newspaper. "Those of us who taught Troy remember him for the beautiful smile he always had on his face; he lit up a room when he walked in. We also remembered that he loved life and loved to dance."
More recently, Harden lived in Atlanta and worked as a flight attendant. About three years ago, he got involved with Tillerson's 4US Sports Foundation, which strives to "uplift, educate and empower the LGBT communities through sports."
Harden played for the foundation's Atlanta Fury basketball team, several members of which joined Harden's other friends and family for a lakeside vigil Saturday night.
The team recently posted a montage video in Harden's honor and will retire his No. 8 jersey at its next big tournament.
"It's super hard," Tillerson said. "For me, daily, I almost feel like he's gonna call me at any moment and say, 'I got you guys.' "
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