The body found on Monday in the search for missing 19-year-old Nigerian student Richard Okorogheye has been confirmed to be his.

Confirming the tragic news on Wednesday, UK’s Metropolitan Police in a tweet wrote, “Our deepest sympathies are with Richard’s family at this incredibly difficult time and they continue to be supported by specialist officers.”

Before his disappearance, Okorogheye who lives with sickle cell disease had been shielding, meaning he was not expected to leave home and minimise face-to-face contact for health reasons.

The body had been found in a pond in Epping Forest on Monday afternoon, 12 days after Okorogheye, who attends Oxford Brookes, was reported missing.

Okorogheye left his family home on the evening of March 22 in Ladbroke Grove, West London and was reported missing two days later, police have said.

Investigations revealed that he took a taxi to Loughton, more than 22 kilometers from where he lives.