ROBERTSDALE, Ala.—A hot summer day. A cool, inviting river and a group of friends.

Sounds like a recipe for a great summer’s day, but for Matthew William Studt, 17, of Daphne, it was the last summer day. Studt drowned Wednesday in Styx River in Seminole.

According to a report from the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office, Studt was swimming in 40-foot-deep water with four of his teenage friends when they heard him call out for help. Deputies were dispatched to the Juniper Road swimming hole around 4:13 p.m.

Studt’s mother said he couldn’t swim, according to the sheriff’s office.

“The victim’s friends advised our office, after hearing Matthew call out for help, they saw him go under water,” sheriff’s office Cpl. Michael  S. Gaull said. “The victim’s friend advised me when they first heard Matthew call out for help, they thought he was just playing around.”

A neighbor called 9-1-1.

“Seminole VFD, Lower Alabama Search and Rescue and the Escambia County Search and Rescue Teams were dispatched to Styx River to conduct a search for the victim” Gaull said.

A dive team recovered the body by 8 p.m., officials said.

Studt’s body was taken to the Alabama Department of Forensics for an autopsy. Funeral arrangements had not been made as of press time, a Wolfe-Bayview Funeral Home & Crematory source said.

Daphne High School Principal Don Blanchard called Matt a “teacher’s delight.” He remembered the rising senior as a guitar enthusiast and agricultural student who made a positive impression on those he met.

“Matt was a wonderful child. He was very respectful and did his work, and it’s my understanding that the teachers really loved teaching him,” Blanchard said.

Staff Writer Kelli M. Dugan contributed to this report.