A HEARTBREAKING wait by the banks of the Murrumbidgee River ended yesterday with the recovery of missing swimmer Chris Sahn.
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Chris, 19, was found partially submerged in the water about 9.30am, a short distance from where he was last seen on Friday night.
Although his body is yet to be formally identified, Wagga police superintendent Bob Noble said the discovery was "consistent" with that of the missing swimmer.
"The information I've got is (the body) was submerged, floating on the surface of the water," superintendent Noble said.
"Apparently it surfaced some time (yesterday) morning, which is not unexpected in these matters."
"Often it's just a matter of time, obviously it's a difficult time for family and friends, playing that waiting game though."
Superintendent Noble said the family had been waiting for closure and the discovery would come as "some relief" in a "very troubling and concerning time".
"It is a young adult, a person in the prime of their life; very, very sadly for his family, friends and the community he has been lost this time," he said.
"It just goes to show that even a person in the prime of their life, such as this young fellow obviously was, we can all still be vulnerable in the water."
Chris, who is understood to had previously lived in Wagga, was on holiday from Sydney when the tragedy occurred.
Members of Chris's family - along with a large number of people from Wagga's Liberian community - lined the banks of the river for the duration of the search, enduring high temperatures as they watched, waited and prayed.
On Saturday morning they were seen wading along the edge of the river, conducting their own search in the hope of finding a son, brother, cousin and friend.
"Everyone's praying for a positive outcome," Chris' cousin Abel Appleton told The Daily Advertiser on Saturday.
Described by Mr Appleton as a " very quiet boy" who "loved singing and rapping", Chris was trying to swim across the river when he got into trouble and disappeared a short distance upstream from Wagga Beach.
"(Chris) never knew how to swim, he came swimming and that's it," Mr Appleton said.
"He thought he could swim, but he didn't know (how to swim)."
His body was transferred from a State Emergency Service (SES) boat and loaded into a vehicle, from Alan Harris McDonald and Co funeral directors, at the Wiradjuri Reserve boat ramp shortly after 10.30am.
The discovery ended a large-scale land, water and air search which included the Snowy Hydro SouthCare helicopter and Sydney-based police divers.
Chris's death follows the tragic drowning of seven-year-old Sudanese boy Rida Marco, who slipped into the river while playing with friends in late 2011.
