Yaron Kathuri: Police make shocking discovery after U.S-based Kenyan teen was found dead

A Kenyan family living in the US is reeling in shock and pain after police on Saturday, October 22 found a body believed to be that of their 17-year-old son at a scene where he was last seen three weeks ago.

Yaron Kathuri's body was discovered by police officers from Douglasville Police Department in the dense woods that surround a Douglas County reservoir next to Arbor Place Mall.

The mall's parking lot was one of Kathuri's last-known locations because police officers had found Kathuri's car parked at Arbor Place Mall on the morning of September 30, two days after his disappearance. 

His parents Andrew and Vera Kathuri have said that their son - who was a student at Chapel Hill High School - was set to graduate in May 2023.

Their hope of ever seeing their son alive again ended upon receiving a police statement of the discovery of a human body wearing clothes that their son was last seen with at the bottom of a concrete structure.

"We kept hoping for three weeks that he would come through the door. He was our pride and joy, our firstborn...we had so much hope for him and so much hope for his future," Vera told 11Alive of the tragic disappearance and death of their son.

Teen battling depression

The father revealed that the son was battling with anxiety and depression to a to an extent of googling his symptoms and possible treatments.

"The memories we have of him are that he's a fun-loving kid, a peaceful kid. Yaron is the unifying factor, very magnetic, he's able to bring people together," his father said.