BOSTON -- Parents are demanding answers after a 4-year-old died Friday in an apparent drowning at a lake staffed by lifeguards in Sturbridge.

Police said Christian Frechette was pulled from about 3 feet of water in Cedar Lake Friday afternoon. He was pronounced dead at Harrington Memorial Hospital.

Frechette was participating in a town recreation program in Sturbridge.

Police detective Mark Saloio told The Worcester Telegram that the child was found next to a dock.

Police said it appears nobody saw Frechette struggle in the water, even though lifeguards were on duty, as well as people who work with the Sturbridge Recreation Camp.

“There were several lifeguards on duty and several people who work with the Sturbridge Rec Camp on duty,” Saloio said. "There’s no indication that anybody saw him struggle.”

The boy went into the water before the desginated time for swimming, while other children were gathered at a nearby pavillion.

“Where were the lifeguards? Why weren’t they watching this little boy?” neighbor Denise Schepper asked. “I just assumed that the lifeguards are on duty, that the kids are safe.”

Meanwhile in a separate incident on Cape Cod, a 1-year-old almost drowned in a backyard pool.

Dennis police were called to the home at the corner of Sea Street and Route 28 Friday afternoon after the child's mother found him struggling in the pool.

Witnesses said the toddler was breathing and conscious when picked up by a medical helicopter and taken to Children's Hospital in Boston. The Cape Cod Times reported that he was treated and released.