Southington police say an afternoon of swimming with friends ended in the drowning death of a 16-year-old boy.

Police identified the boy as Vincent Agu, 16, a student from Southington who attended high school in Middletown. Agu went under while swimming with friends in Wasel Reservoir on Sunday.

Channel 3 Eyewitness News reporter Katy Zachry reported that by the time divers found Agu's body, he had been underwater for almost two hours.

John Ward, who lives near the drowning scene, witnessed the search and rescue and said the boy's friends had run to Ward's home looking for help.

"He was just hysterical, (saying), 'My friend's drowning, someone help me, call 911,'" Ward said. "Everybody from Plainville came, as far as their search and rescue, and then the guys on the dive team came."

Channel 3 Eyewitness News reporter Jessica Schneider reported police received a call for a possible drowning at about 4:30 p.m. on Sunday. Agu's body was discovered at 6 p.m.

Ward learned the teenagers had spent the day jumping off the reservoir's cliff and while on the walk back, they apparently tried to take a shortcut.

"They had walked ... (and) at that point, they said, 'Hey, let's swim across instead of walking all the way around,'" Ward said.

"In the process of swimming across, they lost one in their party," Southington police Lt. Ed Pocock said.

Southington police said there were five boys in the group and that they were able to show rescue divers exactly where their friend went under.

Crews tried to resuscitate Agu, who was unconscious, and Trooper 1 flew him to Hartford Hospital.

"When something bad happens, help is a ways away; this is a rather remote location and it takes a lot of resources and time to get out here," Pocock said.

Students from Southington High School, who spent the first two years of school with Agu, said they can't believe what happened.

"I was freaked out, I was shocked, I didn't know what to think," said John Cooke, a senior at Southington High School.

"He was always a good kid, pretty outgoing; He was really funny actually and he got along with a lot of people," said Colleen Roarty, a senior at Southington High School.

People who live around the reservoir said kids always swim there despite "no trespassing" and "no swimming" signs posted in the area.