Charlotte teen dies at Lake Wylie in second York County water fatality in 2 weeks

A Charlotte teenager has been identified as the person who died Thursday at Lake Wylie in the second water fatality on the York County side of the lake in less than two weeks.

Evan Forbes, 16, died Thursday afternoon when divers pulled him from the water after he had jumped in the lake from a boat, according to the York County sheriff and the county coroner.

Emergency crews went to the scene on the western side of the lake near Little Allison Creek around 2 p.m. after Forbes jumped in the water but did not resurface, the sheriff’s office said. The office posted that about an hour later, emergency divers had found him and administered CPR, but he died.

The coroner’s office is investigating the death as a “water-related fatality” but has not yet released a cause of death.

Forbes was not wearing a life jacket, said Trent Faris, spokesman for the sheriff’s office. The sheriff’s office is urging people who use the water this summer to be safe during recreation and wear a life jacket when in the water. On boats, there must be a life jacket for each person on board, Faris said.

The sheriff’s office has posted several public safety messages about lake safety on the office Facebook and other social media pages in the past two weeks.

On May 19, York County divers found the body of a 25-year-old from Charlotte near Tega Cay on the lake after he had jumped from a boat while swimming the day before, officials said. The coroner’s office said in a statement that he drowned.

This story was originally published May 29, 2026 at 3:14 PM with the headline “Charlotte teen dies at Lake Wylie in second York County water fatality in 2 weeks.”