The body of Remy Nolet, the young man who went missing after the canoe he was in with his friend capsized, has been found.

Fisherman discovered a body floating on the water in the Chambly Basin Monday around 2 p.m. Bobby Nolet, Remy's father eventually confirmed the body belonged to his son.

“I thank all the people who gave me a hand to find my son,” said Nolet. “We can [now] move on to another step, to say goodbye to my son in a different way.”

Remy, 19, and his friend Catherine Desautels, 17, were out on the water when the canoe tipped over. There was only one life jacket, and Nolet insisted Desautels take it. He went under the water and Desautels went for help. She was the last person to see him alive.

The police search for Remy ended last Monday, but his father and volunteers started their own search.

Bobby told CTV Montreal Sunday he had been sleeping less than four hours per night in order to try to find his son's remains.

Laura Nolette, Bobby's cousin, said she's happy Bobby and his wife will be able to get closure now that the body has been found.

"It's been very painful, and I think being able to have his son, and bring his son home, to mourn his son, and give him the send off that he wants to give him as a hero I think is going to help," she said.

A volunteer said he was inspired to offer his help because he has a son the same age. "If it was my son, I'd probably be in the water until we found him," said Martin Turcotte.

The lack of aquatic visibility complicated efforts to find Remy's body, and was part of the reason police called off their search.

Desautels, who had been friends with Remy for years, was insistent that his body be found.

“There aren’t many people who sacrifice their lives for someone else. He wasn’t obliged to give me the lifejacket,” said Desautels, fighting back tears.

Nolette said she was not surprised by the news that Remy, her second cousin, would commit such a selfless act. His father is a generous man, and clearly passed on those traits to his son, she said.

"I had said to Bobby, 'You did a good job with your son, he's just like you.' And he said, 'I gave him some tools, and you hope your child takes those tools. He was better than me,'" she said.