A man drowned over the weekend while trying to save his stepson in a Carroll County lake, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
Officials pulled the body of 26-year-old Stephon Hunt-O’Neal from Lake Seaton late Saturday, DNR spokesman Mark McKinnon said.
Hunt-O’Neal, his stepson and another adult had been boating on the lake when the child fell in the water, McKinnon said. Hunt-O’Neal jumped in to rescue the boy, whose age and name was not released.
The child, who was wearing a life jacket, was able to get back into the boat safely, McKinnon said. Hunt-O’Neal decided to swim to the bank, but went underwater along the way.
He did not resurface.
Game wardens for the DNR searched for the man using sonar scanners. Authorities did not specify where his body was found.
Hunt-O’Neal was a personal trainer at Club Fitness and coached the Carroll County Fusion FC youth soccer team.
“He was always smiling, always encouraging, and always a joy to be around. He was just a good person and will be missed terribly,” Club Fitness said in a Facebook post.
Friends of Hunt-O’Neal’s family created a GoFundMe to raise money for his funeral. The fundraiser exceeded its initial $7,000 goal within 15 hours, according to the organizer.
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