The body pulled from the Penobscot River last Friday has been positively identified as that of David Breunig, the 21-year-old Westbrook man who disappeared in Orono Feb. 26, authorities said Wednesday.

Breunig’s family announced Monday that his body had been identified based on evidence recovered with it, but the Maine Medical Examiner’s Office had not completed its examination at the time.

Breunig, a Maine Maritime Academy student, was last seen walking toward a railroad bridge that crosses the Stillwater River, which flows into the nearby Penobscot, according to the Maine Warden Service. He was on his way to meet friends at a nearby bar.

The Bangor Fire Department recovered the body April 22 near Sea Dog Brewing and I-395, more than nine miles downstream from where Breunig is believe to have fallen into the river.

Breunig, who went by “DJ,” was remembered by family and friends as a responsible young man who was looking forward to his life.

Cpl. John MacDonald, a spokesman for the Warden Service, said his agency had been in contact with Breunig’s family since the body was found.

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Even before the medical examiner’s confirmation of the body’s identity, Breunig’s family released an obituary saying the body was their son.

“It gives me closure that I know where he is now,” Breunig’s mother, Elaina Breunig, said Monday night in a telephone interview. “I was still holding out hope that the ending would have been different. I’m glad we can finally bring him home.”

Elaina Breunig said that her son’s wallet was found on the body.

The Breunigs have two other children, Derek, a freshman at Maine Maritime Academy, and a daughter, Danielle, who attends Westbrook High School.


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