A MISSING teen's body was found in a New York river tied up inside a shopping cart, according to her heartbroken family.
The search for 14-year-old Samantha Humphrey took a devastating turn on Wednesday when a body was found in the water under an old railroad bridge.
Fishermen on the Mohawk River in Schenectady, New York, spotted a head floating and called police to investigate, NBC affiliate WNYT reports.
On Thursday, officials confirmed that they found a body that had been there for some time but did not release the identity.
An autopsy was completed and the results are expected to be made public next week.
The horrific discovery was made near the location where Samantha disappeared - three months after she was last seen.
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Police spent months searching the park and surrounding area before the body was found.
Multiple grieving family members have said that they were told the young girl was confirmed dead and gave horrifying details on how she was reportedly found.
"Obviously she didn't tie herself up in a shopping cart and sink herself," one family member told WNYT, adding that the family "was prepared for this day."
The family member said: "It is almost certainly a homicide."
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Cops have not said if foul play is suspected in the death of the person pulled from the water.
As official confirmation is pending, the young girl's devastated family has said that they can now begin their grieving process.
"When a s**t day becomes an even more terrible day, but at least now there is closure of sorts," a family member wrote on Facebook, per WNYT.
"We've all dreaded this day and here it is."
In the days after Samantha's disappearance, a black and pink puffer jacket similar to one she was known to wear was also found in the river - with what appeared to be blood on the hood.
Officials expect autopsy results to be made public on Monday at the earliest.
DEVASTATING DISAPPEARANCE
The U.S. Sun previously reported that Samantha's mother, Jaclyn Humphrey, created a GoFundMe campaign to help her hire an attorney and a private investigator.
On the website, Jaclyn reported that Samantha snuck out of her home around 11.30pm on November 25.
The teen was going to meet her ex-boyfriend, who Jaclyn said was the last person to see Samantha alive and the last person she called.
Samantha and her ex reportedly had a tumultuous relationship and got into a physical fight earlier that day, Jaclyn told local NBC affiliate WNYT in December.
Although Jaclyn was unhappy with the speed of the investigation when she started the GoFundMe, Samantha's grandfather John Matarazzo said that he supported the police and their efforts.
"She’s not hiding somewhere," he previously said.
"If Samantha was alive, she would have at least let us know that she was alive.
"Because she cared about us."
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Officials said that more information about the body would be released in the coming days.
