Georgia · Winder, Barrow County · Missing & Alerts

Fort Yargo State Park Missing Woman: the Search for Erica Gibson, 21, Moves Beyond the Park in Winder, Barrow County, GA

Erica Gibson, 21, has not been found. Crews searched Fort Yargo State Park by land and by water on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026, and dive teams ran sonar across the lake, before Winder police said they had learned she walked out of Fort Yargo under her own power Wednesday evening. The park search was called off and the park reopened at 6:30 p.m., and police said they were still working leads and still trying to find her.

By Kate Thompson Published Sept. 3, 2026, 8:15 p.m. ET 8 min read Active · not found · park reopened 6:30 p.m.

What happened at Fort Yargo State Park?

A 21-year-old woman who was last seen at Fort Yargo State Park in Winder on Wednesday has still not been found, and the effort to locate her has now moved outside the park.

The report that Erica Gibson was missing reached the park at about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 2, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources said, FOX 5 Atlanta reported. Her cellphone turned up inside the park the same day, and that discovery is what put searchers into the woods and onto the water.

Six agencies worked the park through Thursday. Dive teams swept the lake with sonar equipment while other crews covered the ground, Atlanta News First reported that authorities focused the search on the lake using sonar. The park stayed closed to its normal operations while they did it, FOX 5 Atlanta reported.

Late Thursday afternoon the picture changed. Winder police said officers had received information indicating Gibson left the park under her own power on Wednesday evening, WSB-TV reported. The park search was suspended at roughly 6:30 p.m., and the park went back to its usual schedule at that hour.

What ended was the search of the park. Gibson has not been found, and police said they were continuing to follow leads and were still trying to locate her.

Who is Erica Gibson, and what was she last seen wearing?

Gibson is 21 and from Atlanta, AccessNorthGA reported.

She stands 5 feet 6 inches and weighs roughly 132 pounds. When she was last seen she had on blue jean shorts and a shirt in green and gray.

Authorities believe she may be traveling on foot, FOX 5 Atlanta reported.

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When was she last seen, and when was she reported missing?

Gibson was last seen at Fort Yargo State Park on Wednesday, Sept. 2. The report that she was missing came in at the park at about 7:30 p.m. that evening, the Georgia DNR said.

The phone was recovered in the park on Wednesday as well. Searchers were working the park the following morning, and the City of Winder put out a written statement shortly after noon on Thursday.

What did searchers do at Fort Yargo on Thursday?

Crews searched the park two ways at once on Thursday: on foot across the grounds, and on the water.

Dive teams took the lake inside the park, using sonar equipment to read what is under the surface. Fort Yargo’s lake covers 260 acres, which is a large body of water to cover in a day.

The park was closed to its normal operations for the duration.

Why did the search of the park end Thursday evening?

Because officers received information that Gibson had left the park.

Officers received information late Thursday afternoon indicating that Gibson had walked out of Fort Yargo on her own on Wednesday evening, police said. With that on the table, the ground and water search inside the park boundary was suspended at about 6:30 p.m., and the park went back to its usual schedule.

That is a narrower thing than it sounds. The case is open, Gibson is still missing, and police said the work of finding her carries on away from the park.

Which agencies searched for Erica Gibson?

Six separate agencies put people on the Fort Yargo search: city police and fire, the county sheriff, the state emergency management agency, the game wardens who police Georgia’s public lands and water, and a state dive team.

How has the search moved, hour by hour?

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What have Winder police said, and who takes information?

“During the investigation, authorities learned information that raised concerns about her emotional well-being, prompting an extensive search of the park and surrounding area,” police said, Atlanta News First reported.

Winder city officials said Thursday that “based on information, officers are concerned about her emotional well-being and at this time, there is no indication that foul play is involved.”

Nothing further about Gibson’s state of mind has been released by police.

Anyone with information is asked to call 911, or the Winder Police Department at 678-425-6849. Email goes to [email protected].

Where is Fort Yargo State Park?

Fort Yargo sits inside the city of Winder, in Barrow County, on the road between Atlanta and Athens. The park address is 2019 Fort Yargo Ave., Winder, GA 30680, and the park office number is 770-867-3489, according to Georgia State Parks.

The park runs to 1,816 acres and wraps a 260-acre lake with a swimming beach, two boat ramps and fishing. There are 20.5 miles of trails for hikers and mountain bikers, along with cottages, yurts and dozens of campsites.

The park takes its name from a log fort built in 1792 by settlers. Park hours run 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., with the office open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and the beach area open from 9 a.m. to sunset.

Scale is part of why a search here takes six agencies and a dive team: nearly 1,800 acres of ground, plus a lake, plus more than 20 miles of trail.

Which Georgia public alert programs cover a missing adult?

Georgia runs one alert system with four named programs under it, and the criteria for each are published by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

None of them is triggered automatically. A local law enforcement agency has to ask, and the request goes to the GBI. The GBI drafts an alert bulletin and then asks the Georgia Emergency Management Agency to activate it. GEMA transmits the bulletin to broadcasters and, working with law enforcement, decides whether it runs statewide or only in one region. Broadcasters are asked to air it at least twice in the first hour and once an hour for the next three.

Levi’s Call is Georgia’s AMBER Alert. It requires a reasonable belief that an abduction happened, a belief that the child is in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death, enough descriptive information about victim and abductor, entry into the National Crime Information Center with the child abduction and AMBER Alert flags, and a victim aged 17 or younger. The GBI states it will not be granted for runaways, or for non-custodial abductions where no danger exists to the child.

Mattie’s Call, created by the General Assembly in 2006, is the emergency missing alert for disabled or elderly people. The GBI notes that Georgia law defines disabled adults as people who are developmentally impaired or who have dementia or another cognitive impairment. Activation also requires that the agency believes the person is in immediate danger of serious bodily injury or death, that its own investigation has verified the disappearance and ruled out other explanations, that there is enough information to give the public, that the person is entered into NCIC, and that the agency has broadcast statewide to law enforcement and 911 centers and contacted local media.

Blue Alert, from 2010 legislation, covers violent suspects who kill or seriously injure law enforcement officers and helps locate officers missing in the line of duty. Kimberly’s Call, also from 2006, is for violent criminals at large who may pose a serious threat to the public.

Separately from the alert system, Georgia law places a standing duty on every law enforcement agency. Under O.C.G.A. § 35-1-8, an agency must immediately acquire, collect, classify and preserve any information that would help locate a missing person, and must exchange those records with other agencies in Georgia, in other states and at the federal level. The GBI also maintains a public Missing Persons list among its unsolved cases. The Winder Police Department holds the case here.

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Does Georgia require a waiting period to report an adult missing?

No. O.C.G.A. § 35-1-18 says no law enforcement agency in Georgia may implement a policy or practice mandating a minimum waiting period before a missing person report is initiated. The same section leaves it to the agency’s discretion to decide what action, if any, a report requires.

That section was enacted by the 2014 General Assembly through Senate Bill 23, which the legislature titled the Stacey Nicole English Act. Its effective date was set at July 1, 2013.

A related provision, § 35-1-8(c), goes further for one group: when an agency is told that a person with Alzheimer’s disease or another mental illness involving dementia is missing, it must immediately open an investigation into that person’s whereabouts, and no waiting-period policy may be applied.

Gibson was reported missing on the same evening she was last seen, so no waiting period was ever in play here.

Has a search like this happened at Fort Yargo before?

Yes, and it is a separate case that was resolved more than two years ago.

On Jan. 29, 2024, a 16-year-old named Kaelyn Phillips went missing from Fort Yargo State Park Campground 2 at around 1:30 a.m. Winder police were joined by the GBI, the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office and the DNR, the park was temporarily closed to day-use visitors for a K-9 ground search, and drones and helicopters were flown, FOX 5 Atlanta reported at the time.

Phillips was later found safe in North Carolina. Winder police said no foul play was involved, and Winder Police Chief Jim Fullington thanked the agencies that helped.

It is the same park and the same police department, and that is the whole of the overlap.

What is not known yet?

What else are people asking about the search for Erica Gibson?

Has Erica Gibson been found?
No. As of Thursday evening, Sept. 3, 2026, Gibson had not been found. Winder police said they were continuing to follow leads and were still trying to locate her.

Is Fort Yargo State Park open?
Yes. The park was closed to normal operations on Thursday while crews searched. Normal operations resumed at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.

Did the search for Erica Gibson end?
The search of the park was suspended at about 6:30 p.m. Thursday. The case is open and the effort to find her continues beyond the park.

How old is Erica Gibson and what does she look like?
She is 21. Her height is 5 feet 6 inches and her weight roughly 132 pounds. Her clothing when last seen: blue jean shorts, plus a shirt colored green and gray. Authorities believe she may be traveling on foot.

Where was Erica Gibson last seen?
At Fort Yargo State Park in Winder, Barrow County, on Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. She was reported missing at the park at about 7:30 p.m. that evening, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

Why did they search the lake at Fort Yargo?
Gibson’s cellphone was found inside the park on Wednesday, and that discovery prompted the search. Dive teams used sonar equipment on Thursday to read what lies under the surface of the park lake.

Do police think foul play was involved?
Winder city officials said Thursday that officers had concerns about her emotional well-being and that nothing at that point pointed to foul play.

Which agencies searched for Erica Gibson?
The Winder Police Department, the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office, the Winder Fire Department, the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency, the Law Enforcement Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, and the Georgia State Patrol Dive Team.

Who do I contact with information about Erica Gibson?
Call 911, or the Winder Police Department at 678-425-6849. Email goes to [email protected].

Does Georgia make you wait before reporting an adult missing?
No. O.C.G.A. § 35-1-18 says no law enforcement agency in Georgia may implement a policy or practice mandating a minimum waiting period before a missing person report is initiated. The section leaves it to the agency's discretion to decide what action, if any, a report requires.

Is there a Georgia alert for a missing 21-year-old?
Georgia's public alert system has four programs. Levi's Call requires a confirmed abduction and a victim aged 17 or younger. Mattie's Call covers disabled or elderly people, which Georgia law defines as adults who are developmentally impaired or who have dementia or another cognitive impairment. Blue Alert covers law enforcement officers and the people who attack them, and Kimberly's Call covers violent criminals at large.

Was someone else reported missing from Fort Yargo before?
Yes, in a separate case. Kaelyn Phillips, 16, went missing from Fort Yargo State Park Campground 2 at around 1:30 a.m. on Jan. 29, 2024, and was later found safe in North Carolina. Winder police said no foul play was involved.

More Winder and Barrow County reporting is collected on our Barrow County page, and Georgia missing-person cases and public alerts are on our Missing & Alerts page. Earlier from Winder: Apalachee High School shooting: Colt Gray sentenced to life without parole in Winder, GA.