FREDERICKSBURG, Va. – Anthony Mandel Johnson, Jr., 18, from Prince William County, drowned at a quarry near the Rappahannock River at the end of Wicklow Drive, according to the Fredericksburg Police Department.
“The victim and one of his friends were swimming towards a rope swing when the victim began struggling in the water,” Natatia Bledsoe, from the Fredericksburg Police Department, wrote in an email. “The female friend and other citizens at the quarry attempted to save him, but they were unable to do so.”
Johnson and three female friends were swimming on private property with signage against trespassing, police said. Emergency crews arrived about 10 minutes after 911 was called.
Fredericksburg and Stafford dive teams found the teen 45 minutes later. He was unresponsive. Johnson was rushed to Mary Washington Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Detectives are investigating the incident and the Medical Examiner has ruled the cause of death an accidental drowning.
Police have been assigned to patrol the area in the the hopes of preventing another drowning.
