Eimable MANIRAKIZA
- TRAGICALLY LOCATED DECEASED Eimable MANIRAKIZA
- TRAGICALLY LOCATED DECEASED
A "very loved" Melbourne musician has been found dead after a two-month community campaign to find him.
Eimable Manirakiza, 24, was last seen by his family on June 23 in Werribee in Melbourne's outer west.
Manirakiza's disappearance sparked a large community effort to locate him.
The Finding Eimable team said it was "heartbroken" to confirm the news.
"Our team conducted a search based off new information. And at midday on Saturday the 4th of September, Eimable's body was recovered," an update said.
The statement, posted to social media, said the search began after a member of the public found Manirakiza's bag and phone.
"Circumstantial evidence strongly indicates that he passed away where he was found, not long after he went missing," it said.
A Victoria Police spokesperson confirmed a body was found about 11:30am on Saturday in the Werribee River.
The body is yet to be formally identified, but investigators believe it is that of Manirakiza.
A post-mortem will be conducted and police are still determining the exact circumstances of his death.
"This information while devastating, does not change how incredibly grateful we are for the action you as a community have taken to find Eimable," the Finding Eimable statement said.
"The level of love, care and investment you all have displayed will stay very close to us as we enter this new stage of life without Eimable."
The 24-year-old was the eldest of seven children and his brother, Bienvenue, told the ABC in July he was "very loved, almost like a father figure".
He was a talented singer, producer and musician who was well respected in the Melbourne hip-hop community.
The Finding Eimable campaign said he was "an incredibly spiritual person who had great faith in the universe and his place within it".
"Our hope is that is he is warm, at peace and feels how greatly he is loved."