Funeral on Sunday For Teen Who Drowned in Canton Reservoir

The teenager who drowned earlier this week while swimming in the Hickory Log Creek Reservoir will be laid to rest on Sunday.

Funeral services for Jon Thomas Bettis, 17, will begin at 2 p.m. Sunday at the South Canton Funeral Home Chapel. Bettis will be buried at Mt. Olive Baptist Church Cemetery following the services.

The family will continue to receive friends and condolences today between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. at South Canton. 

Bettis drowned on Wednesday while swimming in the Hickory Log Creek Reservoir in Canton, which opened to the public in March. Bettis' autopsy will be conducted by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Medical Examiner's Office.

Bettis is survived by parents Tommy and Wendy Bettis of Canton; siblings Will, Jay, Katie, Abby and Tori Bettis; grandparents Wayne and Terry Bettis of Cartersville and William and Patricia Hendrix of White; and uncles, aunts, cousins and other family members and friends. 

According to the Marietta Daily Journal, Bettis was a junior at Cherokee High School and was taking courses at Chattahoochee Technical College. 

According to the Canton Police Department, Bettis drowned between 1:45 p.m. and 5 p.m. Wednesday after entering the reservoir from a bank that he and his friend were fishing from.

Police say Bettis' friend tried to save him, but had to swim 30 feet back to shore to call for help.

Along with Canton Police, the Canton Fire Department, Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services' Dive Team, and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources participated in the search for Bettis, whose body was recovered around 5 p.m. Wednesday. 

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