Kyrin Carter: Body found in search for 12-year-old boy last seen leaving hotel barefoot

Boy with autism went missing from a Best Western hotel on 15 May

A photo of Kyrin Carter, 12, whose body was found on Monday (Hammond Indiana Police Department)

The body found in the search for a missing 12-year-old was confirmed to be that of Kyrin Carter.

The Lake County Coroner's Office identified the body on Tuesday morning as that of Kyrin, according to FOX32.

A kayaker found the body in the Little Calumet River in Hammond, Indiana, at about 8.15pm on Monday. He called officers and told them he found a body about 300 feet from where Carter went missing on 15 May.

Kyrin, who had autism and was non-verbal, was caught on CCTV footage walking out of a hotel barefoot before he vanished.

He was staying with family, who were visiting relatives in Hammond, at a Best Western hotel.

The kayaker who went searching for Kyrin’s body told FOX32: “It was happiness that I found him, that I could give the family closure”.

“But then finding his body, it hit me hard,” he added, “I wasn’t ready for it, but that’s what I came here to do.”

A diving team were able to recover the body on Monday, according to Hammond’s police department.

The cause of death has not yet been determined.

Officials from Hammond are scheduled to hold a press conference on Tuesday afternoon.