Carterton man Finn Yeats is being remembered as a "really nice young man" who had the world at his feet.
Police confirmed they found the body of the missing 20-year-old in the Tongariro area yesterday afternoon.
Yeats was last seen in the early morning on January 15 when he left his home in the Carterton area.
His death is not being treated as suspicious and will be referred to the coroner.
There's since been an outpouring of social media posts remembering the 20-year-old.
Jonathan Tanner, a family friend, said from the outside it looked like Yeats had everything going from him.
"He had a good job, he was a very talented sportsperson and a lovely person but obviously he was suffering from some demons. Those demons got on top of him in the end."
Tanner said Yeats was a top athlete throughout school and won national titles in athletics. He was also a "very talented" rugby player, playing for Wairarapa Bush.
The Wairarapa Bush Rugby Union posted on social media, saying its thoughts and prayers went out to Yeats' family and friends.
"Finn was a rising star who played his way into the Wairarapa Bush Heartland team in 2018 and featured heavily in the semifinals and the finals of the Lochore Cup."
Tanner said the family was grateful for the support from the network of friends and the community who tried to find and reach out to Finn.
He said regardless of the devastating outcome, the family were appreciative of everything that everyone had done.
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