Cherwin Padpad was one of the campers who joined the efforts. He said he was told a young boy had gone missing while playing.

"We walked up and down the main road here, a couple kilometres," Padpad said. "We checked out the beach site, the river site, but we didn't see anything."

He said packing up to leave after the weekend was sad.

"Going back, it's just a little hard," Padpad said. "Even though it's not my kid I feel sorry for the parents and I just wish them the best."

It's unclear where the boy's body was found. An area metres away from the campsite where the boy's family was staying was taped off on Monday.

Police say foul play is not suspected and an autopsy will be done later this week.