Santo Domingo.– A Freed-Hardeman University freshman who drowned Wednesday while on a mission trip in the Dominican Republic was remembered by friends Thursday as a talented musician and an excellent student.

Shane Ruiz, 19, was from the Memphis area. He drowned as the mission group from FHU spent its last day in the Dominican Republic on the beach.

At around 4 p.m. several students were standing on the shore in about 3 feet of water when violent waves knocked Ruiz down and an undertow took him out to sea, according to a press release from the university.

Cory Lamb, an FHU alumnus and missionary in the Dominican Republic, said that despite a three-hour rescue effort, swimmers and boats could not reach Ruiz.

Ruiz's body had not been recovered as of Thursday. His parents were expected to arrive in the Dominican Republic on Thursday.

The mission group spent spring break in the Dominican Republic to teach children through a Vacation Bible School program. The group left March 13 and was expected to return to Nashville at midnight Thursday.

Twenty-three FHU students and two staff members were on the trip. All the students are members of the Sigma Rho social club - which organized the event - and the two staff members are club sponsors.