The body of a 16-year-old Georgia boy was found Tuesday after the teen was reported missing a day earlier from a church camp he was attending on Jekyll Island.
Connor Mathis was found in the water at the island’s south end after a nearly 20-hour search with hundreds of volunteers and multiple law enforcement agencies, the Brunswick News reported.
Connor had been attending a church camp on the island, officials said, and was reported missing after he failed to show up at 6 p.m. Monday as campers regrouped from afternoon activities.
Volunteers showed up to help the Georgia State Patrol and other local, state and federal agencies search for the teenager.
MISSOURI DOCTOR FOUND DEAD IN ARKANSAS LAKE WAS KIDNAPPED LAST YEAR, BROTHER REVEALS
Connor Mathis, 16, was found dead on Georgia’s Jekyll Island on Tuesday, a day after the teen went missing, officials said. (Glynn County Sheriffs Office)
It was not immediately known how the teen died.
The teens body was found in the water on a beach at the south end of Jekyll Island, according to a local report. (Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images, File)
Officials said Connor had high-functioning autism. Some searchers told the newspaper that Connor’s autism is what prompted them to join the search.
TENNESSEE WOMAN FOUND IN CALIFORNIA AFTER VIOLENT CROSS-COUNTRY ROAD TRIP CAUGHT ON CAM
Jekyll Island is one of the Golden Isles of Georgia’s barrier islands. Connor was attending a church camp on the island when he went missing on Monday. (David Underwood/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images, File)
“I have a cousin who has autism,” Erica Johnson, who gave up part of her vacation to join the search, told the newspaper. “I hope anybody would do it for him.”
Connor was a rising 11th grade student at Glynn Academy. The school said it will have counselors available to speak with for the next few days.
Jekyll Island is located in Glynn County off the coast of Georgia within the Golden Isles.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
