Three days after Lil Jon‘s 27-year-old son, Nathan Smith, was reported missing in Georgia, police have announced that he was found dead Friday (Feb. 6), with responders apparently recovering his body from a pond near his home.
In a post on Facebook, the Milton Police Department provided a devastating update to its Tuesday (Feb. 3) missing person’s report on Nathan. “On February 6, 2026, at approximately 11:53 a.m., divers with the Cherokee County Fire Department located and recovered a body from the pond,” the post reads. “The individual is believed to be Nathan Smith, pending official confirmation by the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office.”
The department went on to note that, while no foul play is suspected, it will “continue to treat this as an open and active investigation” and plans to withhold any further details until “the official cause and manner of death are determined by the Fulton County Medical Examiner.”
In a statement shared with Billboard, Lil Jon — who shared Nathan with estranged wife Nicole Smith — expressed, “I am extremely heartbroken for the tragic loss of my son, Nathan Smith.”
“His mother [Nicole Smith] and I are devastated,” he continued. “Nathan was the kindest human being you would ever meet. He was immensely caring, thoughtful, polite, passionate, and warmhearted — he loved his family and the friends in his life to the fullest.”
Thanking his fans for “all of the prayers and support” as well as the numerous police and fire departments that aided in locating Nathan, the rapper also called his son “an amazingly talented young man; a music producer, an artist and engineer and graduate of NYU.”
“We loved Nathan with all of our hearts and are incredibly proud of him,” Lil Jon added. “He was loved and appreciated, and in our last times together we’re comforted in knowing that we expressed that very sentiment to him.”
Nathan was first reported missing the evening of Tuesday (Feb. 3). At the time, Milton police wrote on Facebook that he’d “run out of his house and has been missing since,” warning members of the community that he “may be disoriented and in need of assistance. Family and friends are concerned for his safety.”
In a statement provided to Billboard shortly afterward, a rep for Lil Jon said, “The family is asking for privacy at this time. We are also asking for continued prayers for Nathan to come home safe.”
After their initial search efforts proved unsuccessful, the Milton Police Department wrote Friday that it widened its scope to include “a pond in Mayfield Park near Smith’s Milton residence,” from which Nathan had fled.
Like his father, Nathan was musically inclined, making music under the moniker DJ Young Slade. He was the only child of Lil Jon and Nicole, who were married for about 18 years before separating in 2022.
The hip-hop star also shares Lil Jon 1-year-old daughter Nahara with his girlfriend, business owner Jamila Sozahdah.
