Local authorities recovered Eril's remains from the Aare River on Wednesday and confirmed his identity with a DNA test on Thursday, exactly 14 days after he was last seen swept away by strong currents. Eril was 22.

On Friday, Ridwan took the opportunity to bathe his son’s body at the University Hospital of Bern as part of proper Islamic burial rites, noting how his son's body had been found in “pristine condition” due to the freezing temperatures of the river and lack of wildlife.

According to Islamic beliefs, the body of a deceased must be interred no more than 24 hours after his or her death.

“By Allah’s grace, You have truly protected Eril and his body from all manner of harm during 14 days in the Aare River. Eril, it is time for you to return home to give thanks to the millions of people who have prayed for you,” the governor said in a post on Instagram.

Eril’s remains are scheduled to arrive in Indonesia on Sunday to be buried on Monday, Ridwan stated in another post.

“I am thankful to the Indonesian Embassy in Switzerland and the Bern Police/administration for all their hard work. Jazakallah [may God reward your deeds] for everyone who has helped in Eril’s search and sent prayers,” he said.

Eril was last seen on May 26 when he decided to go for a swim in the Aare with a friend and a relative. He was in Switzerland with his family to enroll in a local university.

Ridwan was on a work trip in the United Kingdom but immediately traveled to Switzerland after his son went missing. A joint search and rescue team was deployed to sweep along the Aare in a number of places, while the family looked for Eril in locations where the river can be easily accessed.

The incident resulted in a widespread outpouring of grief, as Indonesians of different stripes offered their prayers and thoughts online to the social media-savvy governor and his family during their desperate search.

At one point, Indonesia’s notorious netizens even left a string of bad Google reviews for the Aare River, otherwise a popular holiday spot frequented by locals in the summer.

After about a week, Ridwan and his wife and daughter returned to Indonesia, believing their son had passed on. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, as well as a slew of other public figures, offered the family their condolences.

The family, with the support of the West Java chapter of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), held ghaib prayers, a Muslim ritual for the deceased in the absence of a body.

On Thursday, Indonesian Ambassador to Switzerland Muliaman Hadad announced that local authorities had recovered a body from a section of the river at Engehalde dam a day prior.

“On the afternoon of Thursday, June 9, local time, the police received confirmation from DNA testing that the body found was indeed Eril’s,” Muliaman said in a press conference streamed live from Bern.

The announcement came after a statement was issued by the Bern Police in German, which said the police had spotted a body at Engehalde dam on Wednesday at 6.50 a.m. local time. They determined that the person was deceased. A forensic investigation later confirmed that the body was Eril’s, and that he had died of drowning.

The envoy said that as per Swiss protocol, the Bern Police processed their findings through the canton court before receiving clearance to release Eril’s remains to the family.

He added that the embassy would assist in fulfilling Eril’s full rights as a Muslim to have his remains transported to Indonesia to be handed over to the family for burial.

Ridwan’s younger brother, Elpi Nazmuzzaman, who stayed in Switzerland to assist in the search effort, said the family would ensure that Eril received a proper burial as soon as possible, in accordance with sharia law.

“We offer our gratitude to the Bern maritime police, the Swiss federal government, as well as the Indonesian Embassy in Switzerland, which never ceased its duty to protect Indonesian citizens,” Elpi said at the conference.