Brazilian authorities have called off a sea search for Rye Hunt, the Australian backpacker who went missing more than a fortnight ago.
The sea search began after fishermen spotted a body floating off the coast of Rio last Wednesday, in clothes similar to those of the 25-year-old Tasmanian.
Mr Hunt has been missing since May 21 when he left Galeao International Airport in a taxi after an argument with his travelling companion, Mitchell Sheppard, and booked into a Copacabana apartment.
The Hunt family says the sea search for a body finished after 72 hours, as per navy protocol.
"No body or personal effects have been found during the sea search and Brazilian police will continue their search for Rye," the family said in a statement on Monday.
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Mr Hunt's partner Bonnie Cuthbert and uncle Michael Wholohan are in Rio de Janeiro working with local and Australian authorities as they seek to clear up his mysterious disappearance.
Authorities searched on and around Cotunduba Island, three kilometres off Rio, last Monday and Tuesday after another fisherman reported seeing Mr Hunt there, scratched and asking for water.
The family admits there is "significant evidence" Mr Hunt was under the influence of drugs when he went missing.
Ms Cuthbert is asking anyone who has video footage or who has heard of anything that could help investigators to come forward.
"We are particularly interested in any information relating to Rye after 6pm on May 21," she said.
The electrician, who worked at a mine in Western Australia, had saved for three years for the trip through South-East Asia, South America and Europe.
