A 16-year-old Lynn Tech student drowned while swimming at Breakheart Reservation Monday afternoon.

Shanequa McKennzie, 16, of 7 Hanover Circle, Lynn, was pronounced dead at Melrose-Wakefield Hospital after she was pulled from Pearce Lake two hours earlier, according to Karen Dawley, spokesperson for the Essex County District Attorney's Office.

Saugus Fire Chief James Blanchard said firefighters responded to the pond at Breakheart Reservation on a report of a female who had gone missing in the water.

By the time firefighters arrived, a good Samaritan had located the girl and hauled her up on a rock, Blanchard said. Responding firefighters immediately took over the rescue effort from an off-duty nurse who was trying to resuscitate the victim.

Two Saugus firefighters, Matt Fowler and Ron Ruszkowski, continued CPR compressions while an ambulance rushed the unresponsive McKennzie to Melrose-Wakefield Hospital, Blanchard said.

Dawley said McKennzie was a student at Lynn Tech who was swimming at Breakheart Reservation with friends. She did not know what caused McKennzie to go under or whether lifeguards were on duty at the time of the drowning.

Blanchard said the reports he heard indicated a park ranger jumped into the water and found McKennzie.

According to Blanchard, no lifeguards were patrolling the water when the drowning occurred. He added signs were put up at the state park to inform the public no lifeguards were on duty.

Blanchard said lifeguards were stationed at Pearce Lake the previous weekend as temperatures soared into the 90s, and managed to save a swimmer from drowning.

In the past Blanchard noted police and firefighters have responded to several drowning incidents at Breakheart Reservation, though none in recent years.

Blanchard said authorities don't know what led McKennzie to drown in Pearce Lake. He pointed out the pond is weedy and uneven, with an elevation that drops fairly quickly as swimmers move toward the center.

"But at this point we're just not sure what happened," Blanchard said.

Coincidentally, Blanchard told the Advertiser firefighters had been at Breakheart Reservation earlier in the morning to go over protocol for water rescues.

State Police assigned to the Essex County District Attorney's Office are investigating the drowning, Dawley said.