GULFPORT, Mississippi -- Harrison County Coroner Gary Hargrove has confirmed that the body found in the Mississippi Sound Friday is that of 22-year-old missing kayaker Nikolas Rainer.

Hargrove said Saturday Rainer's body was identified through information provided to him by the family, including tattoos, birthmarks and photographs.

Forensic pathologist Paul McGarry performed an autopsy on Rainer Saturday morning and the cause of death is drowning. Hargrove said the death is ruled accidental.

The body was spotted by passing fishermen Friday afternoon around 1:10 p.m. about four miles south of the Beau Rivage in the Mississippi Sound. The fishermen notified the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources and Marine Patrol agents recovered the body shortly thereafter.

Rainer and his father, 57-year-old Kenneth Rainer, were last seen around 4 p.m. on Feb. 27, shortly after they departed Ocean Springs Harbor on a kayak fishing trip. The empty kayaks were spotted by a passing shrimp boat around 7 p.m. that night near Marsh Island off of the Davis Bayou area of Ocean Springs.

Kenneth Rainer's body was found not far from the kayaks shortly after midnight on Feb. 28. The cause of death for the elder Rainer was also ruled as drowning. Nick Rainer's body was found some six nautical miles from where his father's body was located, according to the county flotilla.

Agents from the DMR Marine Patrol, U.S. Coast Guard, National Park Service and the Jackson County Sheriff's Department Flotilla continued to search for the younger Rainer for the next few days, with the Flotilla continuing to search throughout the week.

Family and friends of the Rainers kept vigil at Ocean Springs Harbor throughout the ordeal, hoping Nick Rainer would ultimately be found alive.

Story by Warren Kulo I GulfLive.com