The search for a missing Pocatello teenager who fell into the Snake River while hunting last month ended on New Year’s Day after his body was discovered by way of an underwater drone, authorities said.

The Bingham County Sheriff’s Office posted to its Facebook page around 5 p.m. Monday what will be the final update in the search for 16-year-old Jayden Jensen stating that his body had been recovered.

“Earlier today we received a call from local volunteers (who wish to remain anonymous) that have been working with Jayden’s family near where the incident occurred,” the Monday post read. “They have been battling the ice and the poor road conditions. Recently, they were able to procure the donated use of an underwater drone that was nimble and maneuverable enough to navigate some of the more difficult areas. Thankfully, this was a recipe for success. Jayden was located on the bottom of the river channel and brought to the surface. He was near perfectly preserved.”

The search for Jayden lasted nearly one full month since he had last been seen on Dec. 6 when he fell into the Snake River trying to retrieve a duck he shot while hunting with friends. The remote area where the incident occurred is in very rough terrain near McTucker Ponds and the American Falls Reservoir. Emergency crews searched both the Snake River and the reservoir for the missing boy for nearly two weeks before official search efforts were postponed to the spring because the waterways were freezing over.

Unofficial search efforts among friends, relatives and community members continued from Dec. 19 until the boy’s body was located on Monday.

The sheriff’s office on Tuesday said that Jayden was located in the same general area that he was reported to have fallen into the river. The neoprene chest waders and attached rubber boots that he was wearing at the time he fell into the river were not on his body and were not recovered, the sheriff’s office said.

The Idaho State Journal on Tuesday interviewed the operator of the underwater drone that ultimately led to the discovery of Jayden’s remains, McCammon man Wyatt Woods, who said surprise followed by relief were the initial sentiments he felt during the process. Woods is the neighbor of Khris Cummings, a friend of the Jensen family who was assisting in the search efforts.

“Surprise would probably be the best word to describe my first initial reaction,” Woods said. “The reason why it was surprising was not only because of all the searching that had already been done so far but also because I actually accidentally stumbled across him.”

The underwater drone Woods used to locate Jensen is the QYSea Fifish V-Evo, which boasts a 4K camera, a 166-degree ultra-wide view lens, 5,000 lumen LED lights, and a 100-meter tether. The drone was able to reach a depth of 100 meters and operate in temperatures as low as 14 degrees.

Woods said that he had previously been assisting in the search for Jayden using one of his aerial drones and that it wasn’t until divers joined in on the search that he got the idea to use an underwater drone.

“The divers could only be underwater for 20 minutes at a time before they had to exit and stay in a warming hut for about an hour,” Woods said. “I was looking into obtaining a hot water wetsuit that would allow for longer dives but the price for those was not really reasonable.”

Woods then came up with the idea to use an underwater drone. His mother Barbara offered to purchase the drone for the search so long as he learned how to operate it and was willing to bear the cold weather and continue to search for Jayden.

Stumbling upon Jayden was a mere accident, Woods said, however, as visibility was low inside the river with Woods only able to see a few feet in front of the device. In order to search the river, Woods said he would first deploy it and then search for the riverbank so that he could use it as a landmark to remain oriented while searching.

Woods had been searching for almost three hours when he deployed the drone for the last time, he said.

“Every time I would drop the drone in the water it would take me about 10 minutes to ding the bank before I could actually start searching,” he said. “One of the divers told us about a point of interest and I deployed there and was searching for the bank when I found him. My first reaction was surprise and then when we directed the divers to where he was it was really just a sense of relief.”

The sheriff’s office said in its Monday post that after Jayden was recovered the Bingham County Coroner’s Office then responded “and we were able to be near the family when the longed-after moment of closure was finally here.”

“On behalf of the family, we would like to thank every single person that had a role and put effort into bringing Jayden home,” the sheriff’s office said. “There were countless man hours, thoughts and prayers from far and wide. This incident brought us all together, but it was time. May Jayden rest in peace, and may his legacy live on through us all.”

Though Woods ultimately located Jensen, he wanted to stress that it was not him or his work alone that resulted in the discovery. Had it not been for all the previous work that was done, he knows the search would have been much more difficult, he said and wanted to say thank you to all of the people who helped provide the Jensen family with some much-needed closure to begin the new year.

The Jensen family will be celebrating Jayden’s life from 1 to 4 p.m. on Jan. 13 inside the ballroom at the Idaho State University Student Union Building.

Two online fundraisers have been launched to help the Jensen family in this trying time. They are accessible by visiting gofund.me/952379eb or gofund.me/471eb19c.