It is the ending everyone feared and nobody wanted.

Barrie Police believe they have found the body of 15-year-old Brandon Crisp. The missing teen was located in a wooded area on the 5th Line at Oro-Medonte, not far from his home. But there's no immediate word on the cause of his death or how long he might have been there.

Hunters stumbled upon the body Wednesday morning and called authorities.

Cops have yet to confirm the identity, but sources indicate there's little doubt of who the body is.

"At this point we believe it to be Brandon, and we're still obviously in the early stages of our investigation," explains Sgt. Dave Goodbrand. "It's not confirmed because nothing's confirmed until we have pathology, but we believe it to be Brandon."

Police have set up a command post at the scene where Brandon was found, said to be a treed area near a small body of water. Because of the location, the case has landed in the jurisdiction of the OPP and authorities have said little about the find.

The young man disappeared on Thanksgiving Day after getting into an argument with his parents over the excessive use of his Xbox and the game "Call of Duty 4."

He angrily donned his backpack and rode away on his bicycle. At least two women came forward to report they'd seen the youngster that day, and his abandoned bike was located soon after. But his trail went cold.

That sparked huge searches, lead by police, the family and volunteers. Cops scoured the heavily wooded area with a sense of urgency, desperately looking for the boy.

There were fears he may have been abducted by someone he met online and efforts were made by Microsoft to find the people he was in contact with.

But the grim finding means he apparently didn't get far. Concern grew as the weeks passed and the weather turned from summer to winter. Last week, the first major snow of the year blanketed the area, making the hunt more difficult.

At one point, cops gave up the search, thinking they'd been through all the necessary areas. But they suddenly began it again last weekend, announcing they may have missed something.

His frantic parents admitted that it wasn't like their son not to call or get a message to them, but they adamantly believed he was still alive and would come home soon.

Grief counsellors are on scene and a special assembly was held at St. Joseph's High School, which Brandon attended with his sisters. Students were told the terrible news, led in prayers and were officially informed by the principal.

Students could be seen outside the school Wednesday openly weeping and walking around in shock, unable to process the stunning news.

There has understandably been no word from Brandon's family, who had been so publicly pleading for any sign of their missing son. They are said to be devastated by the terrible news, convinced their boy would one day come home.

Brandon's story had been in the public eye for weeks, and was even featured on America's Most Wanted. The story generated hundreds of tips and worries over video game addiction, but in the end, the terrible find appears to have been something of an accident.

Pam Seatle is in Barrie and will have more on this heartbreaking story on CityNews at Five and Six.