Stepdad jumps in after son who fell in lake. He didn’t resurface, Georgia officials say

A family outing at the lake turned tragic when a man drowned after jumping in to save his stepson, Georgia officials say.

Stefon Hunt-O’Neal, 26, was boating with his son and another adult on Saturday at Lake Seaton in Carroll County, about 50 miles west of Atlanta, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

At some point the child fell into the water, and O’Neal jumped in to help, officials said.

The child, who was wearing a life vest, made it safely back onto the boat, but O’Neal decided to swim to the bank. He went under while on his way to shore and never resurfaced, according to a news release.

Game Wardens used sonar to locate the man’s body and recovered it shortly before midnight, officials said.

Tanasia Kenney

Sun Herald

Tanasia is a service journalism reporter at the Charlotte Observer | CharlotteFive, working remotely from Atlanta, Georgia. She covers restaurant openings/closings in Charlotte and statewide explainers for the NC Service Journalism team. She’s been with McClatchy since 2020.