Autopsy results identified drowning as the cause of death for a teenage boy whose body was found in the Santa Ynez River near Lompoc in February, according to Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Raquel Zick. 

Alberto Corona Cabrera, 14, of Lompoc had been missing for more than a week before his body was discovered in the rain-swollen river west of the city on Feb. 5. 

In addition to determining drowning as the cause of death, the autopsy identified the manner of death as accidental, Zick added. 

Detectives from the Sheriff’s Office Coroner’s Bureau used rapid DNA technology to confirm the identity, Zick said. 

The boy’s father had reported him as missing from their home on the afternoon of Jan. 27. 

His parents last saw him at approximately 8 p.m. Jan. 26, the Lompoc Police Department said.

Detectives determined that Cabrera Corona was with two other juveniles in the early morning hours on Jan. 28. 

The three were in a vehicle that became stuck in the mud and was left abandoned on the west end of the city, police said, adding that they separated after disagreeing which route to take while walking back to the city.

Lompoc detectives and a Sheriff’s Office helicopter searched the area where the missing juvenile was last seen, but he was not located.

A day later, the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue team, three search dogs and the helicopter thoroughly searched the area where the boy was last seen, but they did not find him or signs of foul play.

The boy attended Lompoc Valley Middle School.