Man’s body found in Victoria Harbour at launch of Melbourne Boat Show

The launch of the Melbourne Boat Show has begun with a tragedy after the body of a missing teenager was pulled from the waters of Victoria Harbour on October 20.

Emergency services were called to NewQuay Promenade just after 1.30pm as crowds attending the major event watched on.

Police will prepare a report for the coroner; however, the man’s death is not believed to be suspicious.

In a statement, police confirmed the identity of the man was that of an 18-year-old from Shepperton named Simon, who was last seen in Docklands on October 7.

Police released an image of Simon on October 19 in the hope anyone with information of the teen’s whereabouts would come forward after he was last seen on CCTV about 4am sitting out the front of a restaurant on NewQuay Promenade.

His friends, who were with him earlier in the night, woke up later but Simon had not returned to his accommodation.

He was last seen wearing black Jeans, long white sleeve shirt with a dark green shirt over the top and white Nike runners.

A family member spoke of their despair on social media upon hearing the tragic news, saying “our hearts are broken for having had the privilege of bringing up the warmest of hearts”.

“Our family are well supported; we had prepared for this news. We just need space to come to terms with it,” they wrote.

“Thank you to everyone who prayed for us, shared the posts, and sent messages of support. I'll give an update as to when a celebration of Simon's life will take place.”

The grim discovery comes as hundreds of people descended on Docklands to soak up the sunny skies and atmosphere at the launch of the much-anticipated Melbourne Boat Show where dozens of exhibitors have set up.

A large section of the show near berth E-11 was cordoned off by police along NewQuay Promenade as officers from the Water Police as well as uniformed officers, and investigators made enquiries at the scene for about an hour.