A 17-year-old drowned Sunday after swimming in Lake Oconee near the Old Salem Campground, the Greene County Sheriff’s Office said.

Authorities responded to the campground about 8:45 p.m. regarding a possible drowning, sheriff’s Capt. Lee Stancill said in a statement. Deputies found Greene County Fire and Rescue tending to an unresponsive Jalen Neal, Stancill said.

The Crawfordville teenager was taken to St. Mary’s Good Samaritan Hospital in Greensboro, where he was pronounced dead.

Neal was swimming in the beach area of the park when he went under for a few minutes, Stancill said. He was eventually spotted and pulled from the water.

The drowning is the second at the campground within the past month.

Officers from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources are conducting an investigation into the incident.

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U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff waves to a crowd of supporters during his "Rally For Our Republic" event on Saturday, July 12, 2025, inside the Kehoe Iron Works building at Trustees Garden in Savannah. During his speech, Ossoff said, "What’s happening to our country right now should chill us to the bone." (Sarah Peacock for the AJC)

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