Body found in Rhode Island river is that of Sunil Tripathi

A body pulled from the water near a Providence, Rhode Island park has been confirmed as that of missing 22-year-old Brown student Sunil Tripathi, whose sad story made international news when he was wrongly accused of carrying out the Boston bombings.

Tripathi's body was identified by means of a forensic dental examination Thursday, wrote CBS News, which added that the cause of death was yet to be determined.

Read more from GlobalPost: Body pulled from river may be that of missing Brown student

The young philosophy major was last seen on March 16 near Providence, and had recently been granted academic leave from the school as he attempted to re-evaluate his goals, noted CNN.

"As we carry indescribable grief, we also feel incredible gratitude," wrote Sunil's family on a Facebook page that had been set up to help find the young man.

"To each one of you–from our hometown to many distant lands–we extend our thanks for the words of encouragement, for your thoughts, for your hands, for your prayers, and for the love you have so generously shared."

The missing student became internationally infamous for all the wrong reasons last week, when internet sleuths on Reddit and other popular sites identified Tripathi as the perpetrator of the Boston bombings, citing his resemblance to surviving bomber Dzohkhar Tsarnaev.

It quickly became obvious that Tripathi had been falsely accused as last week's dramatic police chase unfolded throughout Boston — but the damage had already been done to Tripathi's reputation, and to his grieving family, provoking some serious (and ongoing)national soul searching about the role of the Internet in modern day criminal investigations.

Reddit published a public apology to the Tripathi family, expressing remorse for what a moderator identified as a "type of witch hunt."