( CNN ) -- More than three weeks after his son was last seen , the father of a missing University of Florida student said Saturday the family is ready to begin the grieving process , confident that the 18-year-old 's body has been found . `` We , as a family , believe that Christian has been found and our prayers have been heard , '' Carlos Aguilar told reporters , as his tearful wife put her head down on a table and then cried into her husband 's shoulder . Gainesville Police spokesman Ben Tobias said authorities are looking into a body that was recently found . But it has n't been confirmed that this body , found in Levy County , is that of Christian Aguilar . Carlos Aguilar stressed that his family is waiting on confirmation of the body 's identity . Even so , he said that he believed they 'll soon be able `` to bring Christian back home '' and have his funeral . `` Our family is going to be grieving until the authorities give us the confirmation , '' the father said . Christian Aguilar , 18 , was last seen on September 20 . Eight days later , Pedro Bravo was charged with first-degree murder in the student 's apparent death . Bravo initially had told investigators he got into `` an altercation with Aguilar '' the night the college student went missing , police said . The suspect said he then left Aguilar in a parking lot in the central Florida city , prompting police to warn that Aguilar may have been disoriented and/or seriously injured . Aguilar 's father told CNN affiliate WCJB that his son disappeared after a fight over a girl . Bravo , who is also 18 , changed his account of what happened `` after being confronted with evidence that disputed his initial statements , '' Tobias said late last month . Aguilar 's backpack was found inside a suitcase in Bravo 's closet , according to Tobias . At the time , the police spokesman said that blood found in several locations in Bravo 's vehicle would undergo an expedited analysis and be compared against known DNA samples of Aguilar . Authorities have used helicopters and K-9 units to search for Aguilar . His relatives plastered the area with fliers , used Twitter to generate leads and invited a nonprofit search group to help look for him alongside family members and police . On Saturday , Carlos Aguilar made a point to thank `` every single person , '' including scores of volunteers , who `` supported our family during this horrible time , during this pain , during this agony . '' According to CNN affiliate WJXT , hunters in a rural part of Levy County found human remains Friday and notified police in Gainesville , about an hour away . CNN 's John Branch and Greg Botelho contributed to this report .
`` We ... believe that Christian has been found , '' Christian Aguilar 's father says . Police have not confirmed that a body found recently is that of Christian . 18-year-old has been charged with murder in Aguilar 's apparent death .