Physics student Duncan Gibbon, 21, vanished at about midnight on Saturday during a night out in Newcastle.
Police discovered a body on an embankment near the High Level Bridge, close to the city's popular Quayside.
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Hide AdA spokeswoman for Northumbria police said: "Identification has yet to be established and police inquiries are ongoing."
Speaking before the discovery of the body, Mr Gibbon's mother, Kate, said: "He is a smashing lad and we love him to bits."