'I love you so much': Mother's tribute to boy killed while swimming in Gold Coast hinterland

The devastated mother of a teenage boy who died while swimming in the Gold Coast hinterland has paid tribute to her son.

Aiden Braumann was with a friend at Cedar Creek Falls about 4.45pm yesterday when the pair got into trouble.

The 13-year-old didn't make it back to shore, sparking a search and rescue operation in the area.

Specialist police, firefighters and paramedics searched the water and shoreline for the boy but police later confirmed he had been found dead.

"This is the hardest thing and (I) don't know how I'm going to get through it my son Aiden Braumann I love you so much," mother Sherry Carroll wrote on Facebook.

Ms Carroll has received an outpouring of support from other parents expressing their condolences.

Queensland Ambulance Senior Operations Supervisor Paul Young said swimming in rockpools was a popular activity in the hinterland but that recent rain made it difficult for swimmers to assess the speed and depth of the water.

"He was playing in a rockpool. The waters up there, with the heavy rainfall, were moving quite quickly and he just got swept away," Mr Young said.

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"What can be having fun in a rockpool can quickly change to a life-threatening situation up there with the water suddenly coming in and filling up and you can get swept away with the currents."

He warned swimmers to be mindful of their surroundings, look after one another and stay out of the water if it seems dangerous.