Body recovered from Lake Afton confirmed to be missing man Ian Shelton
The Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed that a body found at Lake Afton on Saturday is that of 30-year-old Ian Alexander Shelton, a Wichita man who was reported missing last month.
The body was found by a visitor, who flagged down and alerted deputies already in the area. While police did not immediately confirm it was Shelton’s body, the sheriff’s office announced Monday the Sedgwick County Regional Forensic Science Center had identified the remains as Shelton’s.
The 30-year-old Wichita man was last seen at the lake, in between and south of Garden Plain and Goddard, early on Dec. 3, 2025. A 10-day search was coordinated, and family members, friends and strangers continued the search into the new year.
“Ian would not have believed that his going missing would lead up to so many moms and concerned neighbors and friends ... coming together so quickly ... to bring him home,” Shelton’s mother, Stacy, posted on Facebook. “ ... You guys took time out of your lives and your holiday season to be there looking out for my son.”
Shelton’s cause of death is still under investigation, the press release from the sheriff’s office said, and the case remains open and active.
“I miss Ian more than any words could express and I’m lost and lonely without him,” Stacy wrote. “... Next to be done is to find out how Ian died that night at the lake.”
This story was originally published January 12, 2026 at 5:34 PM.
