• The body of a Chinese boy was discovered near his school last week.
• The boy went missing for 100 days.
• His absence became one of the most talked about subjects on the Chinese internet.

Hong Kong: Authorities confirmed Thursday that there are no suspicious circumstances behind the death of a Chinese boy whose body was discovered near his school last week, more than 100 days after he went missing, bringing an end to a high-profile case that had gripped the nation.

Hu Xinyu, 15, went missing in October from a private high school in China’s southeastern Jiangxi province. His absence became one of the most talked about subjects on the Chinese internet, sparking speculation about what happened to him.

At a news conference on Thursday, Hu Mansong, Jiangxi province’s deputy police chief, released specific information on the police investigation into Hu’s death – an unusually exhaustive explanation by Chinese authorities’ norms. He also admitted to flaws in official search operations and welcomed public criticism.

Authorities were chastised for failing to locate Hu despite massive police efforts. Before his body was discovered by a member of the public, the efforts spanned roughly 40 hectares (0.4 square kilometers) of wilderness around the school grounds, utilising sniffer dogs, drones, and thermal imaging equipment and recruiting thousands of personnel.

In recent months, false reports about the boy’s abduction have spread, highlighting widespread popular skepticism in Chinese authorities, which is exacerbated by a lack of government transparency and years of deteriorating censorship.

According to the deputy police chief, one individual was arrested for sharing false information in a video and three others were given administrative penalties for spreading rumors.

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