The body of Yanai Rimon, 25, a young Israeli man who fell in a river in Mexico Wednesday and has since been missing, was found.
Rimon was reported missing Wednesday when a friend who was traveling with him said that he fell into a river from a height of five meters and was swept away by the current at around 12 p.m. Mexico time. Rimon's friend also stated that a few meters away down the river is a high waterfall.
Rimon reportedly traveled to Mexico on a post-military trip.
Local search and rescue forces were deployed at the scene and extensive searches were conducted in cooperation with Israeli teams before Rimon was found.
Israel's Foreign Ministry and Israel's Embassy in Mexico, who were involved in search efforts, expressed their condolences to Rimon's family.
Rimon's family expressed their anguish at the finding of Yanai's body. "Yanai, a child of light, grew up and was educated in Sderot and loved the people of his city with all his heart," said his family.
"Yanai drafted to the elite Duvdevan unit after a year of national service at Kfar HaYarok [Youth Villiage], and was a combat soldier in Duvdevan, where his team mates were his closest friends until the day of his death."
The family expressed their gratitude towards Rimon's friends who they say immediately began the search for him and promised that they would not go back to Israel without him.
"Our heart goes out to them and to the large group of friends who joined them and night and day did not stop trying to locate him, and did not let go of the belief that they would find him alive."
The family also thanked everyone involved in the search and in helping those who were searching.
Gadi Zaig contributed to this report.