Update: Body of missing St. James teen Thomas Medlin found in Brooklyn

The body of the 15-year-old St. James boy who vanished nearly two months ago after traveling alone by train into New York City has been found, bringing a heartbreaking end to a case that gripped Long Island and the much of the country.

Suffolk County Police announced Thursday that Thomas Medlin’s body was recovered from the water off Red Hook in Brooklyn on March 7. Thomas’ identity was confirmed on Thursday, police said.

The discovery closes a painful chapter in a disappearance that sparked searches across Long Island and New York City.

A student at the Stony Brook School, the boy was last seen Jan. 9 after leaving campus about 3:30 p.m. and heading to the Stony Brook Long Island Rail Road station, police have said. Investigators later determined he traveled to Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan later that afternoon.

Surveillance footage captured what police described as a splash in the water shortly afterward.

The investigation included extensive video canvassing, subpoenas and search warrants, and forensic examinations of electronic devices and online accounts connected to the teen, police said. Detectives ultimately determined there was no indication of criminal activity related to Thomas’ disappearance.

In the weeks after Thomas vanished, family members, friends and volunteers distributed flyers and flooded social media with pleas for help locating the teenager, hoping for his safe return.

_{Top: Thomas Medlin (provided by SCPD)}