Alan Massey's body had been missing since 5 April

His body was found at around 0920 BST, on Tuesday, on the southern side of the Mawddach Estuary at Fairbourne, opposite the harbour.

Mr Massey, 37, had not been seen since 5 April when he and RNLI colleague Keith Allday were reported missing after laying moorings in Barmouth harbour.

The body of Mr Allday, a father-of-five, was found 24 hours later at Fairbourne beach.

North Wales Police confirmed on Tuesday that the body found by a man walking his dog was that of Mr Massey, who was also Barmouth's assistant harbourmaster.

Inspector Meirion Ellis said: "We are now closing the missing person file on Mr Alan Massey, although the coroner will carry out a post mortem examination in the near future."

Boat capsized

Mr Massey and Barmouth harbourmaster Mr Allday, 54, were reported missing on 5 April.

The men had been carrying out routine work in a 15ft dinghy, which was found capsized outside Barmouth's harbour wall.

The body of Mr Allday was found on Fairbourne beach 24 hours later and the search for Mr Massey was suspended shortly afterwards.

Keith Allday's body was recovered the day after the accident

An RNLI spokesman said: "We can confirm that a body has been found.

"Our thoughts continue to be with Alan's family and friends and of course, with those of Keith."

Investigations into what happened to the men are being carried out by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch and Gwynedd Council.

The town of Barmouth - which has a population of just 2,000 - was hit hard by the tragedy.

Hundreds of people gathered in Barmouth to pay their final respects to Mr Allday when his funeral was held two weeks ago.

The town came to a standstill and crowds lined the streets around St John's Church as the traditional seafarers' hymn 'For those in peril on the sea' was played.