FALLS CHURCH, Va. (WUSA9) -- A day on the water turned tragic for a Falls Church teenager.
Jeremy Munga, 17, apparently drowned while swimming at Lake Barcroft.
The medical examiner will determine cause of death, but at this point, it appears to be an accidental drowning. Munga's friends just can't understand how this could have happened since he was an athlete and a strong swimmer.
The serenity of Lake Barcroft, belies the heartbreak that happened Thursday evening.
Munga, a rising senior at J.E.B. Stuart, made his mark as was a football player, a dancer and all around athlete and at the high school, said classmates.
"He did track, he was always energetic every time I see him in the hallways. He was always a happy person," said Bemne Teffera, a 2016 Stuart graduate.
Jeremy Munga had been swimming with friends off a pontoon boat about 200 yards from a guarded swimming beach when suddenly he looked tired.
"Everyone else noticed swimmer in distress" and 15 lifeguards from around the lake responded immediately said Bill Lecos, president of the Lake Barcroft Home Owners Association.
Munga was swimming toward a dock, but went under, just 15 feet from shore. Lifeguards tried to find him, but could not. Lecos says when a person goes under in an open body of water, it's completely different from a swimming pool.
"It's dark water...your foot under the water...it can't be seen," he said.
Fairfax County rescue crews found Munga's body around 3 a.m. in 10-feet deep water. The lake can be as deep at 20-feet said Lecos.
"Some kids that were in the lifesaving efforts are classmates. It's a heartfelt loss for a lot of folks," said Lecos.
Jeremy leaves behind a brother a few years older who looks like his twin. They lived together. A person who set up a Go Fund me page wrote that "Jeremy was the best friend you could have.. The one that was always happy, and wanted to always make others smile." The fund received more than $7,000 by Friday evening.
It's been a tough week for the J.E.B Stuart community. Three days ago, a 2015 graduate, Austin Fitzpatrick died.
