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Connor Mathis, a 16-year-old autistic student from Glynn Academy, was reported missing to the Georgia State Patrol on Monday, May 29. Authorities pleading for information on the missing teen's whereabouts said that Connor was last seen Monday afternoon at Camp Jekyll. Camp officials raised the alarm after the teen who was present for afternoon activities failed to show up at a 5 p.m. regroup.
After a nearly 20-hour search conducted by local, state and federal law enforcement with assistance from hundreds of volunteers, the body of Connor Mathis was found on Tuesday morning on a Jekyll Island beach.
In a statement, the Camden County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that the teen's remains were recovered from the Jekyll Island beach. The statement said that the local law enforcement was assisted by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, numerous law enforcement and Fire/Rescue Agencies, along with hundreds of volunteers to search for the missing teen.
Officials said that the teen was found after a County Sheriff’s Office marine patrol boat equipped with sonar discovered the remains of Mathis in the surf off Jekyll Island Beach. The statement read:
“It is with regret that the 16-year-old missing juvenile, Connor Mathis from Brunswick, Georgia, has been located deceased in the surf on Jekyll Island this morning.”
Authorities have yet to disclose the cause of death.
Connor Mathis had high-functioning autism
Outlining the details of Connor Mathis’ disappearance, multiple reports stated that the Brunswick teenager, who attended the Glynn academy and had high-functioning autism, was attending a church camp at the 4-H facility on Jekyll Island on Monday. Mathis was reportedly last seen at Camp between 3:30 and 4 p.m.
Authorities grew concerned after the teen failed to turn up to dinner around 5 pm. Law enforcement was then contacted at around 6. pm. Officials reportedly focused their search on the beach area after Mathis’ friends told them that the missing teen wanted to go to the beach before he vanished
Connor was described as 5 feet 6 inches, 140 pounds with short hair and braces. He was possibly wearing black shorts with a red T-shirt.
In a similar incident, Cameron Robbins, an 18-year-old recent high school graduate from University Laboratory School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was reported missing after going overboard while on a graduation trip to the Bahamas with friends.
School officials said that Cameron Robbins, who graduated on Sunday, May 21, was on a trip with a group of students when he went overboard on Wednesday, May 24. Officials added that the trip to the Bahamas was not sanctioned by the school. Robbins reportedly was on a celebratory trip to Bahmas with several Louisiana high school students in the area.
On Thursday, May 25, local authorities alongside US coast guards are still searching for Cameron Robbins, who reportedly jumped overboard from a sunset cruise on a dare on Wednesday around 9.40 pm.
On Friday, May 26, The U.S. Coast Guard announced that they have ended their search after covering over 325 square miles.
