ST. MARYS, Ga. -- An 18-year-old from Jacksonville drowned on Friday while swimming in a park in St. Marys just weeks after his high school graduation.

Todd Howard's adult life had barely begun when he went under the water at Gilligan's Island Park and never came up.

According to police, Howard disappeared at about 2 p.m. while swimming with his girlfriend. His body was found one hour later.

"Friday I got a call from St. Marys Police Department, saying my grandson was in trouble in the water," said Howard's grandfather, Raymond Jones. "So, I had to drive down there. By the time I got there, they told me it was too late for him."

Jones was devastated by the news that his grandson drowned while trying to swim from the edge of the lake to a small island in the middle.

Howard's grandfather reared him because both his mother and father died years ago. Now, the family has to deal with loss once again.

"He was a wonderful young man," Jones said.

Howard had just graduated from Andrew Jackson High School and was about to determine where he would be going to college.

"While he was down there in St. Marys was when the application came in. He could have went to UNF or out of town to college," Jones said. "I know he would have been so proud to get that piece of paper that he was eligible to go."

Police reports state officers were advised that Howard had asthma, but it was not immediately known whether that led to his drowning.

"It was just a shock -- very big shock to me. I was expecting him to come back Monday, and it just didn't happen," Jones said. "I thank God for every year I had him because he made a difference in my life. I'm so very proud of him."