DOUGLASVILLE, Ga. — A missing Douglasville teen's remains have been identified as 17-year-old Yaron Kathuri, his family told 11Alive. He was last seen nearly one month ago.
Yaron's remains were discovered in an area between Arbor Station and Douglas Boulevard, one of the last known locations that the teen was known to be at, according to Douglasville Police Department.
Officers found his car at the Arbor Place Mall on the morning of Sept. 30, about 10 minutes from where Yaron was last seen, according to his father.
His dad, Andrew Kathuri, said police told him his son's phone was pinged at the mall on Sept. 29. Police later informed the family that it pinged again at Lake Douglas, which is less than 5 miles from the mall.
Andrew said that detectives broke the news to the family that they had found the body on Saturday at 3 p.m. His father was in disbelief, asking investigators if they were sure it was him. Once police said he was found in the clothes he was last wearing, his dad knew.
The teen's family hired a private investigator to look into their son's disappearance. The investigator looked at the last place the phone was pinged, near the lakeside of Arbor Place Mall, despite police having already searched that area, Andrew said.
The investigator went further toward the direction, where Andrew said the PI discovered a "concrete structure" that resembled a well. That's when the investigator found Yaron's body inside, in what his dad described as a 50-foot structure.
"It's where the waters go before they are released into the storm drain," Andrew said. "He was found at the bottom, he was found at the bottom of that concrete structure."
Yaron attended Chapel Hill High School and played trumpet for the band. His mother said he loved to play basketball and described him to be very calm and quiet.
His family hosted a search party for him on Oct. 1 after police found his car at the mall, where they were hoping to find more clues. His mom said that over 100 people came out for the search, including strangers offering to help.