Missing Man. teen's body identified

A body found Monday in a community north of Winnipeg has been confirmed as that of Tyler Arkinson, 14, who went missing in March.

The boy was last seen on Manitoba's Sagkeeng First Nationas he was leaving a house party. A badly decomposed body was found Monday on the reserve, 125 kilometres north of Winnipeg.

Tyler's mother, Darlene Letander Arkinson, told CBC News that the RCMP confirmedTuesday thatthe body found Monday was that of her son.

She offered thanks to the hundreds of volunteers who looked for the missing teen, and prayers for the families of other missing children.

She said a service will be held for her son at a later date.

"I felt excited and sad at the same time," she said about receiving the news. "But I knew. Our prayers were answered. And it brings a big closure. Right now I just got ... it is him."

The RCMP issued a release Tuesday afternoon confirming an autopsy had positively identified the remains as those of the missing boy. Police said the cause of death was undetermined.

The body was discovered along the south shore of the Winnipeg River in an area that had been searched in the spring.

Arkinson's family reported him missing to authorities after they did their own cursory search and failed to locate him.

A team of volunteers, RCMP members and representatives from the Office of the Fire Commissioner and Manitoba Search and Rescue searched the area for days and also failed to turn up anything.