Tragedy strikes Lawrence County: Teenager found dead in pond

Feb. 26—HANGING ROCK — A teenager in Lawrence County, Ohio, was found dead at the bottom of a pond after a party got busted by local police.

Shannon Chase Sizemore, 18, a student at Rock Hill High School, and about 24 other individuals gathered for a "party" Saturday night at the Strip Mines out State Route 650, Jeff Lawless, Lawrence County Sheriff said. He said a call was received Sunday around 1 a.m. informing police of a "large gathering" of underaged teenagers consuming alcohol.

"We don't see anything that indicates somebody pushed him in the water," said the sheriff. "We certainly do not suspect foul play at this time, but nothing is being ruled out. The whole idea of us checking things out (Saturday night) was to ensure safety and unfortunately tragedy strikes."

After two nights of searching, Lawless said divers from the Cabell County Disaster Response Team advised the sheriff's office they had discovered a body in a straight-entry pond "adjacent" to where the gathering was being held. The body was identified around 11 a.m. Monday by both Sizemore's mother and father at the scene of the incident.

"They advised that the body was fully clothed and was in the mud at the bottom of the pond — located about 11 feet down and about 53 feet from the shoreline" with water temperature around 44 degrees, Lawless said.

Standing along Park Road 105 in Hanging Rock was Bryson Lewis, 18, of Lawrence County, Ohio, on Monday. He is a student in the Rock Hill Local School District and was among the two dozens of teenagers at the party Saturday night.

He said he left "15 to 20 minutes" before the cops arrived and had spoken with a deputy that night.

"We were leaving and got pulled over by the sheriff going back there," Lewis said. "I was ready to go home because I had a bad feeling the cops were going to show up. He was pretty drunk."

Lewis made an appearance the night of the party and observed Sizemore drinking excessively, he said. The next morning after the gathering in the strip mines (Saturday night), he arrived to assist in the search at 7 a.m. Sunday.

"I still had hope that we would find him," he said. "We were on four wheelers trying to find my best friend. Me and Chase have been friends basically my whole life, he was basically my brother."

After no appearance of Sizemore throughout Saturday night, the search continued on to Sunday when a "broader search" was conducted.

"Several drones were brought into the area, as well as a fixed-wing aircraft, K-9s, boats with sonar, ATVs and numerous citizens on foot," Lawless said.

"The pond, surrounding area and a large portion of the park was searched. As darkness came upon the search crews on Sunday night, the search efforts were suspended," Lawless said in a press release Monday afternoon.

"The search resumed early Monday morning with specially trained search crews from around the tri-state area," Lawless said. "Divers began searching two ponds in the immediate area, while drones, K-9s, ATVs and foot traffic began other searches."

Rylee Collins, 19, of Lawrence County, Ohio, assisted in the search for two days.

"I got here at 9 a.m. yesterday (Sunday), left at 11 p.m. and went back out here at 8:30 a.m. When I first got here I thought for sure he was passed out somewhere in the woods because I heard he was really drunk," she said.

"I started puking because I knew they were going to pull him out of the water," Collins said, talking about when Sizemore's body was found.

Lewis and Collins agreed it was an eye-opening, tragic situation. Now they are making it their mission to educate and warn others to prevent incidents like this from occurring.

Collins said, "Watch where you are drinking and who you are drinking with; don't party in the middle of nowhere."

"I don't want anybody else to go through what I have had to go through today (Monday)," Lewis added.

The Rock Hill Local School District released a statement to the Rock Hill community Monday afternoon and said there will be counselors and support services available for any student or staff member seeking assistance processing emotions during this time of grief.

"As we come together to support one another through this tragedy, please remember that grief looks different for everyone. It is important that we lean on each other for support, kindness and understanding as we navigate this loss together," the statement read. "Let us honor Chase's memory by supporting one another, showing compassion and coming together as a community during this difficult time."

Lawless said after the arrival to the location of the "party" Saturday night, "deputies began to inquire where Sizemore went and some of the people there said they thought they heard water splashing and that he may have gone into the water, while others said they did not think he entered the water."

"I would like to thank everyone who assisted in the efforts to locate Mr. Sizemore," Lawless said in a press release on Monday. "If I leave someone out, please do not be offended — Ashland Fire Department, IPD (Ironton), Hamilton FD, Upper FD, U.S. Forestry Service, ODNR, Ross County Search & Rescue, Cabell County Disaster Response Team, Barboursville FD, Kentucky K-9 Training, OSHP Air Division and numerous citizens on foot and ATVs."