Updated Story: Body of Sonoma State University Student Found at Annadel Park

This story was updated Monday 4:45pm

Rescue crews searching the hills of Annadel State Park in Santa Rosa Saturday morning found the remains of a missing Sonoma State University student, the Walnut Creek Police Department said.

James Abriel, 19, appears to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said. The remains were found at about 10:50 a.m. today and a weapon was recovered at the scene.

Abriel was last seen in Walnut Creek on April 21 and had been reported missing - and possibly suicidal - by a friend. A handgun had also gone missing from a Walnut Creek home, and authorities believed Abriel, who had had family in Orinda and Walnut Creek, was in possession of it.

The teen had left suicide notes that alluded to a recent break up, said Ben Ellsmore, a friend and a fellow Sonoma State University student. The two met in class this year and were both musicians.

"He played bass guitar, piano and upright bass," Ellsmore, 20, recalled. "He was a really phenomenal musician." But there also something unscrutible about him, and what appeared as a sensitity about being rejected.

"He had a weird reaction whenever I was not able to hang out with him. Like I was a bad friend," Ellsmore said.

In addition to the suicide note left at his apartment, Abriel posted a Facebook message parting with his friends. "I'm sorry," it read. His last profile photo is of himself wearing a hooded sweatshirt and standing on what appears to be a mountain staring into the abyss below.

On Thursday night, less than two days before Abriel's body was found, authorities spotted his white Toyota Camry near Annadel State Park.

The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office search and rescue team began scouring the area on Friday along with search teams from Contra Costa, Marin and Napa counties.

Cashion on Friday estimated that about 65 people were searching the 5,000-acre park using helicopters, dogs and all-terrain vehicles. 

-Bay City News contributed to the report