The search for a missing Texas A & M (TAMU) student reached a tragic end on Saturday when he was found dead in the Austin area, Houston NBC affiliate KPRC reported, citing multiple reports.
Twenty-two-year-old Tanner Hoang allegedly disappeared before meeting family members visiting College Station for a commencement ceremony for lunch.
Citing Houston CBS affiliate KHOU, Houston Daily previously reported that authorities said Hoang, who hailed from the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) Metroplex, was last seen on Dec. 16 on Colgate Drive near Highway 6 and Wolf Pen Creek Park.
The publication reported that a Houston-area based uncle told KHOU Hoang was supposed to graduate with a mechanical engineering degree but was a few credits short.
His family had appealed for assistance for his safe return, having watched video footage of him driving away from a Shell gas station in a silver 2009 Lexus ES350.
The vehicle was purportedly found near a hiking trail leading to the Pennybacker Bridge in Austin on Friday, Austin ABC affiliate KVUE reported.
Austin NBC affiliate KXAN reported that the College Station Police Department (CSPD) confirmed the body that was found in Austin on Sunday was that of Hoang’s and said its counterparts with Austin police are conducting an investigation into his passing.
A Facebook page that was set up to help find Hoang became a memorial to him following the sad development.
“This is not the outcome that we have all been praying for, but on this Christmas Eve, Tanner is now in the arms of his Savior, King, Prince of Peace, Joy and Healer,” one post read.
TAMU student publication The Battalion reported the page said foul play wasn’t suspected in the discovery of Hoang’s body.
“Please keep Tanner’s family in your prayers during this difficult time," officials with the nonprofit organization Amber Alert Network Brazos Valley requested, according to KPRC.