Pinellas County Sheriff's Office marine units and dive team members said they found the remains of a child on the north tip of Shell Key Preserve, in unincorporated Pinellas County.
The body is that of 9-year-old Cameron Bullard, who was reported missing from St. Petersburg Beach on Saturday. Deputies said the body washed ashore overnight.
His remains were discovered by a deputy about a mile away from here he was reported missing over the weekend.
"Our mission was to bring closure to the family," a deputy said during a news conference on Monday.
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Cameron disappeared Saturday while he was playing in the water off St. Pete Beach, near the 18th Ave beach access.
Early Monday morning, The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, who has taken the lead in the search efforts, had a helicopter and an ATV sweeping the beach.
For the past two days, the Coast Guard, Florida Fish and Wildlife, and the Sheriff's Office, along with people who just live in the area, had been searching nonstop for Cameron.
As time has passed, 'search and rescue' become 'recovery.'
According to the Sheriff's Office, witnesses told them Cameron was in ankle to knee deep water when he was swept away by a large wave. One person tried to reach him, but sadly, he could not.
Cameron was a student Gulf Beaches Elementary School in St. Pete Beach, according to school district officials, grief counselors will be available to students at the school Monday morning.
