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14-year-old drowns at Salt River during tubing field trip, MCSO says

MCSO: Teen drowns on Salt River on field trip
Posted at 3:38 PM, Aug 16, 2018
and last updated 2018-08-17 17:11:16-04

An investigation has been launched after a teenager died Wednesday afternoon while on a tubing field trip on the Salt River.

According to the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, around 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, the Director of Arizona International Academy in Scottsdale brought ten students to go tubing along the Lower Salt River for a field trip. 

Shortly after starting their float down the river from the Blue Point Bridge, a 14-year-old student began to struggle to stay on his tube. A sheriff's spokesperson said he was seen walking in waist-deep water when he lost his tube.

A nearby student noticed when the teen went below the surface and entered the water to push him towards large boulders along the shore, but was unsuccessful. 

MCSO Search and Recovery Dive Team responded and recovered the teen in 10-foot-deep water roughly 25 yards downstream from where he was last seen.

A medical examiner pronounced the teen dead and will be conducting an autopsy.

An MCSO official said there is no reason to suspect foul play, and an investigation is ongoing.