Brazil police: Body found on beach is missing Australian

Rio de Janeiro: The family of Australian man Rye Hunt missing in Rio de Janeiro said they are “disgusted” that Brazilian media sent them photos of an unidentified body by text message, asking if it was Mr Hunt.

Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop said the Australian government would work with the family to provide whatever support was possible. Rye was the youngest member of our family and was known for being loyal, loving, generous, cheeky, and as a brother, totally infuriating!’ she said in a statement.

The 25-year-old backpacker went missing on May 21 after he separated from his travelling companion Mitchell Sheppard at the Rio airport.

Mr Hunt’s partner Bonnie Cuthbert, who travelled to Brazil to help with the search, paid tribute to her “Big Bear”.

Brazilian police inspector Elen Souto said in statement on Saturday that forensic tests have confirmed the identity of the body, which was in an advanced stage of decomposition and found in Marica, a municipality about 25km from Rio de Janeiro.

Cuthbert said last week that in the many years she has known Hunt, she never knew him to use illicit substances.

“We have been so lucky to have found and loved each other so deeply”.

“I don’t know if the media have responded to that”, she said. We’ve been working closely with the Brazilian authorities.

His family revealed that Mr Hunt might have taken a highly potent hallucinogenic drug in the lead-up to his disappearance.

Some of his belongings were found in the apartment.

Brazilian police say Hunt had taken powerful drugs and was suffering a psychotic episode in the hours before he went missing. Mr Hunt’s whereabouts had been the subject of widespread speculation after leaving his friend at Rio de Janeiro Airport on May 21.

Another fisherman had earlier reported seeing a man on a tiny uninhabited island a short distance from the same beach.