Authorities said Monday that alcohol may have played a role in the accidental drowning of a Gloucester County man at Four Seasons Campground here over the weekend.

Carlton Hunter, 31, of Clayton, had been swimming at the campground's Kildeer Lake with two friends when he went missing just after midnight Sunday morning, New Jersey State Police said. His body was recovered a short distance from where he entered the water around 2 a.m.

"It was unknown if he could swim well, but his two friends stated that he was intoxicated," said state police Sgt. Stephen Jones. "All three had been drinking."

Jones said the lake is approximately nine feet deep and 200 feet across, with a buoy line spanning its widest diameter.

Hunter's two friends -- a 31-year-old man and 25-year-old woman -- thought he had been playing a joke on them by hiding, Jones said. After searching the area and their nearby campsite, they called police at 12:54 a.m., about 45 minutes after he vanished, Jones said.

An autopsy has since confirmed that the cause of death was drowning and it was ruled accidental, according to Salem County Deputy Administrator/Public Information Officer Robin Weinstein.