One month after 20-year-old Derek Samuel suddenly went missing, his family has been forced to face the most painful reality. His body was discovered by Georgia Emergency Search & Rescue crews on May 31 in a wooded area behind an apartment complex in Atlanta.

Samuel was last seen on April 29, when surveillance footage at the Target store at Camp Creek Marketplace in East Point captured him leaving the store and walking toward Commerce Drive. Although police conducted numerous search operations throughout the month, including tracking his cellphone signal, it was not until May 31 that a K-9 team successfully located the remains.

At present, while his family has confirmed the identity, the East Point Police Department stated that an official identification is still pending and the investigation remains ongoing. Samuel’s family—who always described him as a cheerful, outgoing young man with dreams of starting his own clothing line—have requested privacy as they navigate this period of mourning.