DENISON, TX -- A Denison teen drown on Waterloo Lake Tuesday afternoon. Rescue crews searched the waters for hours. Then about 8:40 Tuesday night, the body of Stephen Bernier, 15, was pulled from the lake. Shelby Levins reports.

Dive teams from Grayson County, along with search crews from Denison Fire Dept. combed Waterloo Lake until almost 9:00 pm. Authorities say recent rains made the water very murky and it was eventually advanced depth detection that helped to locate Bernier’s body.

Friends watched on as dive crews searched for the body of a missing Denison teen on Waterloo lake Tuesday afternoon. Many were visibly shaken, others stunned with disbelief.

“I couldn't believe it he was too good of a person,” Shannon Choate explained.

Shannon says the afternoon started out as a pizza party at the lake for the trumpet section of the Denison High School band.

"Usually in the summer we have section parties,” Shannon said.

Three of the teens were canoeing on the lake when authorities say the boat flipped over. Two of the teens were able to swim ashore but one was not. We're told the teen was the trumpet section leader and was going to be a junior in high school.

"He was a really smart guy at least top ten in his class. He was one of the best people I had ever met,” Shannon said.

Officials say the boat flipped over as the teens were trying to reach for one of their paddles. The Denison Fire Dept. first received the call of a possible drowning about 3:30pm.

"We arrived on scene to find an overturn canoe. Several teens were sitting on the bank pointing out to the canoe, stating they had all three turned over in the canoe and their friend had gone under water and they hadn't seen him friend since,” Assistant Chief Bill Ray, with the Denison Fire Dept., said.

Shannon says the loss is still sinking in, but the teen's memory and leadership will continue to live on.

"It's going to be pretty hard, but it’s probably going to bring us closer"

Authorities tell the teens were not wearing life jackets.

School administrators say the afternoon was not part of a school sponsored trip.

No word yet on any memorial services for Stephen Bernier