CARLSBAD -- Scott Eugene Roberts didn't stay out late very often, and his dad was hesitant to let him spend the night at a new friend's house Monday.

But the 16-year-old talked his father into it. After all, it was the first real day of summer, and he wanted to keep having fun with his buddies, his father, Steven Roberts, recalled Friday.

Roberts never imagined that the sweet, smart boy would be found dead at the house next day after a night of drinking.

"He was the best; smart as a whip," said Roberts of his son, a San Marcos High School student who was on the junior varsity football and wrestling teams and who had just finished his sophomore year. "He was the kindest fellow you ever wanted to meet, and not a partier or a wild kid."

The teenager was found dead by his three friends Tuesday morning. Police told Roberts that empty bottles of tequila, whiskey and vodka were at the home, and that one of the boys had marked 24 dashes on his arm, indicating he had consumed that many shots as part of a drinking game.

"I just hope that somebody reads this and takes overbearing steps to check up on their kids, advise their kids of the danger of alcohol," Roberts, an attorney, said. "And I hope that the kids themselves get scared and don't do what my boy did."

There were no adults at the La Costa home where Scott died. The friend's guardians, a mother and her boyfriend, were in Hawaii, police said.

The medical examiner's office told Roberts that Scott had a lethal blood alcohol level of about .39, though an official cause of death has not been determined. For drivers, a blood level of .08 is considered under the influence.

Roberts said that he and his wife were careful parents and Scott, who grew up in Carlsbad, was a trustworthy child. But this week, their normal caution failed to avert tragedy.

On Monday afternoon, the mother of one of Scott's friends picked him up so he could hang out with his two buddies. Roberts said he knew both boys well, they were good kids from the wrestling team.

Later Monday, Scott called and begged his dad to let him stay over with his two friends at a third teenager's house. Roberts hesitated; he didn't know the third boy or his family. His son didn't tell him no adults were at the home.

But Scott gave his dad the address and phone number where he was, and promised a friend's mother was picking him up for football practice Tuesday. Roberts said he ran some errands Monday evening, and left his wife, Ursula Roberts, a note asking her to check up on Scott when she got home.

But the exhausted special education teacher went to bed early and never called Scott. When Roberts got in around 9:30 p.m., he wasn't sure if his wife had checked on their son, but said he assumed things were OK.

"I kick myself for not following up more thoroughly," the grieving father said.

On Tuesday morning when Scott's friends awoke around 9 a.m., they couldn't wake him, police said. Emergency dispatchers gave instructions on how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and the boys tried. But when medics arrived, they determined the teenager had been dead too long to be revived, authorities said.

Roberts, unable to reach Scott or any of the teen's friends Tuesday morning, was preparing to head to the high school to make sure Scott had made it to football practice when police came to his Carlsbad home.

Police said that no adults are under suspicion in connection with the teenage drinking.

The teens apparently filched the liquor from one or more of their parents without anyone knowing, Carlsbad police Lt. Kelly Cain said.

"If we had the impression that an adult had provided it or an adult had coerced them, it would be a criminal matter," he said.

Roberts said he and his family are devastated, and he also feels terrible for his son's friends who were drinking with him.

"This is something that will be with them the rest of their lives; it's got to be rugged for them," he said.

The young man is survived by his parents, and two college-age sisters, Samantha and Kelly Roberts, all of Carlsbad.

Memorial services are scheduled for 1 p.m Saturday at the Meadowlark Community Church, 1918 Redwing St., San Macros.

Call staff writer Sarah Gordon at 760-740-3517.