LEVY COUNTY - Gainesville Police Department is assisting the Levy County Sheriff's Office with a body found East of Cedar Key.

It’s 60 miles away from where missing University of Florida student Christian Aguilar was last seen, but family and friends believe it’s him, even though the identity of this body has not been confirmed yet.

The Aguilar family tells us they feel like it’s their son and something very coincidental happened Saturday: a couple of students from the Institute of Hispanic Latino Culture at the University of Florida gathered to paint the 34th wall street, to show their peer has not been forgotten.

“My friend called me this morning," Solansh Hernandez said. "We were already here painting the wall and she told me the news and I just got goosebumps cause it’s exactly the timing, perfect timing. Total coincidence though.”

Hernandez says students spoke with Aguilar's father before they started the project to let him know their plans. 

“He gave me full blessing and he was very appreciative for what we were doing for his family,” Hernandez says.

Police have not yet confirmed whether the body found Friday afternoon in an area east of Cedar Key is Christian Aguilar’s.

However the Gainesville Police Department is assisting in the discovery and processing of the body.

Carlos Aguilar, the father of Christian Aguilar says, “We as a family believe that Christian has been found and our prayers have been heard. We want to wait until the authorities confirm it, at this moment the only thing we want to say as a family is to thank every single person that support our family during these horrible times.”

Patrick Sessions, the father of a UF student that went missing 23 years ago and was never found, has become a shoulder for the Aguilar family to lean on.

Sessions says the family’s drive has kept this search and recovery alive.

“He wasn’t slowing down," Sessions said. "He was looking for new stuff to do. I mean this guy is amazing and they’re going to hit a wall and it’s going to be horrible. But it’s going to be a lot easier now that they have Christian back.”

For the family, it’s a bittersweet moment. It’s not what they expected but the father says they will be happy to have their son back home with a proper burial.

The family says the funeral will take place in Miami.