Rico Butler Dead: Police Investigate 17-Year-Old Star Student-Athlete's Drowning

COLUMBUS, Ohio (CBS/WBNS) Rico Butler, a Hilliard Davidson High School student and star athlete, drowned Tuesday night while swimming in a Columbus, Ohio quarry.

PICTURES: Rico Butler, Student Football Star

Police recovered the 17-year-old's body from a quarry near Dublin and Trabue roads shortly before noon, according to CBS affiliate WBNS.

Butler was swimming with several friends when he disappeared beneath the water. One of the teenagers told the station that Butler was playing in the water and joked that he was about to drown. Then, she said, he disappeared.

Butler's friends searched the quarry and eventually called for help. His body was found a few hours later, WBNS reported.

Butler was a running back for the Hilliard Davidson football team in 2009 that captured a Division I state championship.

"He was always a hard worker," friend Cody Evans told WBNS. "If he wanted to do something, he did. No ifs, ands, or buts."

Story Contributed by CBS Affiliate WBNS