THE body of a teenage kayaker who went missing while on an overseas adventure holiday has been returned to North Yorkshire.

Jason Raper disappeared while on a kayaking break in Norway on June 23, sparking an 80-man police search of the River Raundalen.

It is believed Mr Raper, who was 19 and a member of York Canoe Club, travelled to the area to take part in an extreme sports festival in Voss, in Hordaland.

But his trip on the river was not organised by the festival.

Following his disappearance Norwegian police launched a search using boats, dogs and helicopters, but bad weather in early July caused river levels to rise, and the search had to be called off.

The Press understands his body was subsequently found in a lake in the region by a member of the public.

In May, Mr Raper, from Scarborough, and colleagues from the canoe club helped raise more than £3,350 in a three-day kayak event in memory of Kate Stainsby, from Swinton, near Malton, who died following a canoeing accident on New Year’s Day.

Posting on Mr Raper’s facebook page, his mother, Anne, wrote: “Providing all goes well with coroner here we are aiming for Friday 19 in the afternoon (provisionally) for Jason’s day. The ceremony will be at Octon, about ten minutes south of Scarborough.

“We will be providing tea and cakes after at the crematorium. Later for those interested we are heading for Jason’s favorite carvery/pub, Scalby Manor in Scarborough.”

A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesman confirmed yesterday it was assisting the family of a British national who had died while kayaking in Norway, and could not comment on the repatriation of Mr Raper’s body.

A spokeswoman for the Scarborough coroner’s office confirmed Mr Raper’s body had been brought back to North Yorkshire on Tuesday, but an inquest date had yet to be set.