Australian BJJ practitioner Rye Duval Hunt had been declared missing in Rio De Janeiro after disappearing from the city’s international airport on Saturday.

A badly decomposed dead body washed up on a beach in Marica, 25km from Rio de Janeiro three days ago,  has been confirmed as Rye Hunt, police said.

Brazilian police inspector Elen Souto said in statement on Saturday that forensic tests have confirmed the identity of the body, which was in an advanced stage of decomposition.

Hunt’s family released a statement on a Facebook page :

“It is with deep regret and sadness that clinical testing has confirmed that the body found in Marica, 25km away from Rio de Janeiro on 8 June 2016… is that of our beloved Rye Duval Hunt.

“We have received this information from the Australian Embassy but this has not been confirmed by the DFAT at this time.

“Officials from the Australian embassy will now work with the family in Rio to return Rye to Australia.”

Rye Hunt, 25, disappeared from the airport on May 21 and has not accessed his bank accounts or social media accounts since.

He had been working in Western Australia when he left the state indefinitely on April 7 for what he described on Facebook as “an adventure to see the world”.

“Unsure of what the future has in store for us, stay safe everybody, hope to see you all upon our return,” Mr Hunt said in his post.

He has not contacted his girlfriend, who he had been speaking with daily.

Mr Hunt and a friend were at Rio De Janeiro International Airport deciding on their next destination when the pair split to grab a coffee.

Rye Hunt believed his travel companion Mitchell Sheppard was “trying to kill him” at Rio de Janeiro’s airport in the hours before his disappearance, messages sent from Mr Sheppard to a local man show.

Mr Hunt, 25, disappeared in the Brazilian city on the evening of May 21, following what police described as a “psychotic episode” after allegedly taking the party drug MDMA.

Rye Hunt went missing on May 21 after parting ways with his ­travel partner in Rio’s international airport.

Mr Hunt had not been heard from since the decision to split from his companion.

It is believed a brief argument saw the men cool off alone, with plans to rendezvous back at the airport in 30 minutes to buy plane tickets to Bolivia. Hunt didn’t meet up with his friend and instead, booked into a Copacabana apartment. He then went out on the town and was never seen again.