(KSDK) - By Ann Rubin

(KSDK) - It is the seventh drowning in Castlewood State Park in the last two years. Sunday, a 15-year old died and investigators are wondering how this could have happened again.

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Isaiah Green was visiting from New York. He was celebrating a relative's birthday on the banks of the Meremac River. But the celebration turned tragic, when Green and his cousin went for a swim.

The signs near the river say caution, but it was a warning that went unheeded. Witnesses say Green was swimming near the middle of the channel when he yelled for help, then dropped beneath the surface.

"He went under, some guy jumped in, some guy and his dog, and the guy swam toward the kid," Adrian Brewer said. "And the guy dove down under there, went looking for him, couldn't get him. He went about 15 feet down and didn't find him."

Rescue crews came quickly, searching the murky Meremac River, with divers and with dogs. Two hours later, it was a yellow lab named Candy who recovered the body.

"We did two passes with the boat and Candy alerted," Brad Stahlman with Quest Search and Rescue said.

"He was found in about 12 to 15 feet of water, pretty close to where we've had previous drowning events," Metro West Fire Chief Vincent Loyal said.

This is the same spot where five children died last year while on a church outing. Rescuers say the combination of inexperienced swimmers, a changing current and a silty river bottom can be deadly.

"You can get stuck in it very easily and if you're not a very strong swimmer and you're trying to get out of it you may not be able to kick," Lou Amighetti with the Missouri State Water Patrol said.

Isaiah Green had been visiting from Brooklyn, New York, and might not have realized the dangers of the Meremac. But rescue crews do, and they want something to be done.

"Unfortunately we're having more of our share of unfortunate incidents in the Castlewood State Park area and I would hope the state would direct some efforts to preventing those in the future," Loyal said.

Officials say that section of the river is extremely popular, attracting more than 300 people each weekend.