The body of a missing Brantford teenager was pulled from the Grand River by dive teams Thursday night.

Brent Brading-Searles, 17, was last seen Wednesday afternoon, swimming in the river behind Early Haig Park.

Brading-Searles, who is not an experienced swimmer, had been at the park with friends.

“They didn’t actually see him go down, but they did see him in the water,” said Insp. Scott Easto.

“Many hours went by before they actually reported that he was missing and considered that he might have had trouble in the water.”

Several of those friends returned to the scene Thursday, watching rescue efforts while searching the riverside area themselves for any sign of Brading-Searles.

An OPP dive team was called in Thursday to assist police and firefighters in their search.

After searching for much of the day, they found Brading-Searles’ body in the water around 6:20 p.m.

Police say the body was located in deep water near the west bank of the river, upstream of the Veterans Memorial Parkway bridge.

“Alcohol and water is sometimes a dangerous mix. Moving water is even more dangerous," said Easto.

"It’s something that’s very unfortunate and our condolences do go out to the family and friends of Brent."

An autopsy will be performed Friday.