A two-month search for missing Maine Maritime Academy student David Breunig of Westbrook has finally come to a close.
The Breunig family received confirmation Tuesday from the Maine Warden Service that a body retrieved from the Penobscot River on Friday was David Breunig.
Elaina Breunig, David’s mother, told the American Journal Tuesday that she had been awaiting the official word since Friday, but that she was already “certain” it was her son. She had traveled to Bangor Friday, and said her son’s boots and jeans were on the body.
The Breunig family released an obituary Monday, which called his death an “accidental drowning.”
Breunig had been missing since Feb. 26, when he was last seen leaving the Crosby Street area in Orono, heading toward a railroad trestle that crosses the Stillwater River into downtown. He routinely traveled from Castine to Orono on weekends to visit friends.
Elaina Breunig said Tuesday that she has been amazed at the amount of support her family has received from the communities in Castine, Orono, Westbrook, and even Maine Medical Center and Texas Instruments, which employ Elaina Breunig and her husband, respectively.
“Everyone has been beyond supportive,” she said.
He was a 2013 graduate of Westbrook High School, where he played football, basketball and baseball. Elaina Breunig said her son played one year of basketball at Maine Maritime, where he was in his junior year, but decided to concentrate on his studies. He was a dean’s list student.
“His friends loved him and looked up to him,” she said about her son. “He had it all.”
Visiting hours will be held from 4-8 p.m. Friday, April 29, at the Westbrook High School auditorium. A Memorial Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 30, at St. Hyacinth Church (St. Anthony’s Parish), 268 Brown St., Westbrook.
In lieu of flowers, the family is asking that donations be made to the athletic departments of either Westbrook High School or Maine Maritime Academy.
This story will be updated.
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