Human remains, believed to be of a missing snorkeller, washed ashore at the north of Ledge Point in western Australia on Tuesday.
The grim discovery was made by a man walking on Fence Reed Beach early morning, who quickly alerted the police.
It comes five days after Wen “Walter” Ren Gu went missing while snorkelling on New Year’s Day.
“Formal identification is yet to be completed but it is believed to be a 32-year-old man who went missing on Thursday,” the Western Australia Police said.
“His death is not being treated as suspicious and a report will be prepared for the Coroner.”
Walter, 32, had travelled up from the city to snorkel with three friends, hoping to catch crayfish. He somehow separated from the group and had been missing.
Since then, police launched a large-scale search at the popular tourist spot, using aerial support and marine resources, including local boats, jet skis, helicopters and drones.
The discovery marks a tragic development for his family and friends, who had held onto the hope that the authorities would find him alive even as the authorities scaled back search and rescue operations 24-hours he went missing.
One of Gu’s friend made a post on social media seeking support in his search.
“If you or someone you know were at Ledge Point Beach that day, saw someone rescue or pick up an Asian male, have any photos, videos, dashcam footage, or related information, please send me a direct message,” the message read, reported The Age.
Another friend, identified as Chang, made an appeal for public help on Sunday. “At this time, we are unable to confirm whether he made it back to shore on his own or was rescued by nearby members of the public,” she said, reported The West.
“Police conducted search and rescue operations for 24 hours and have since stopped. We do not want to give up and hope to continue searching with the help of everyone’s support.”
Gu has been living and working temporarily in Western Australia and was in the process to apply for a visa to study in the country, reported The West, quoting his family.
The local community expressed shock after the incident. “He wasn’t very far out at all, you can literally nearly walk to the reef where they were,” a resident Jay Barrett, told the outlet, as he cautioned saying, “there are some treacherous spots”.
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