Three and a half months of uncertainty came to end Tuesday night when a discovery confirmed what many had long feared: teenage snowmobiler Richard “Shaw” Jackson had plunged into the frigid waters of China Lake on his way home from work.

Jackson’s body was found by two fishermen around 6 p.m. Tuesday in the west basin of the lake, in an area known locally as “The Narrows,” according to Deborah Turcotte, spokeswoman for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. The warden service announced the discovery late Tuesday night.

Jackson, 18, was a junior at Erskine Academy in South China, where he was known as “Shaw.” He had been missing since the night of Jan. 1.

At Erskine, students dealt with the news during the school day on Wednesday in different ways, according to Assistant Headmaster John Clark. Under school plans, staff were notified at a meeting in the morning. Students were told while meeting in their advisory groups, and were offered the opportunity to meet with counselors if they wanted to, Clark said.

“It kind of has been a two-part incident (with the initial disappearance and then Tuesday night’s discovery) and kids just handle grieving differently,” Clark said. “Many were holding on for hope he would turn up or there was some other explanation. I think for kids holding on for hope’s sake, they struggled more today than they did the first day.

“At least now it is final, but it certainly is a terrible ending.”

That sentiment was echoed again and again on a family-created Facebook page, “Help find Richard ‘Shaw’ Jackson,” which included more than 30 comments on Wednesday. Tuesday night, the family member who created the page noted that Jackson had been found, “but not the way we intended.”

“There will not be a day that passes by that he will not be thought of,” the family member wrote. “But we do thank God for giving us our time with Shaw.”

The fishermen who found Jackson’s body were familiar with the previous search efforts, so when they discovered the body they contacted authorities, according to Maj. Gregory Sanborn of the Maine Warden Service. The Maine Warden Service was assisted by the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office in removing the body from the lake.

“We are appreciative that the efforts of these anglers resulted in Shaw being returned to his family,” Sanborn said.

Turcotte said Wednesday that Jackson’s snowmobile had not been recovered from the lake and she didn’t know whether there were further plans to search for it. Jackson’s body “was brought to the funeral home and the medical examiner will determine the cause of death and at that point our part (in the investigation) is finished,” Turcotte said.

“The most important thing was to help the family,” she said.

Jackson had last been seen leaving Pinkham’s Corner Fuel off Route 32, where he worked as part of a co-op program through the Capital Area Technical Center in Augusta. He was believed to be heading home on his black Yamaha snowmobile, which had just been serviced, according to the warden service.

Wardens, police and volunteers spent the first four days of the search combing area snowmobile trails throughout China, Vassalboro and Winslow, but there were no signs of Jackson. The last two days of the search focused around a small island in the west basin of China Lake, called Bradley Island, where tracks were discovered leading to open water.

A hovercraft, several airboats, airplanes, a helicopter, snowmobiles, and sonar equipment were used during the search, which was suspended the night of Jan. 7.

Dave Pinkham, owner of Pinkham’s Corner Fuel, said in an earlier interview that he was Jackson’s boss and got to know the 18-year-old well enough that “he was like my own kid.”

A month after Jackson was still missing, Pinkham said that Jackson continued be mentioned each day since the search ended.

“Three, four times a day I meet somebody who will ask me about it. There’s a lot of heartfelt sorrow,” Pinkham said at the time.

Pinkham said he would remember Jackson for his intelligence and work ethic.

“He had a very good head on his shoulders,” Pinkham said. “He was very ambitious; a good, hard worker.”

For his part, Clark said he will remember Jackson as a “nice young man who had a nice circle of friends.”

“He certainly was a good addition to Erskine Academy and will certainly be missed,” he said.

Scott Monroe — 861-9253

smonroe@centralmaine.com

Jackson disappeared January 1 while snowmobiling home from a friend’s business. Officials searched the area for days, but turned up nothing.

Jackson’s body was found Tuesday night by two fishermen.

The snowmobiler went missing last Friday night.

Game Wardens say the case will remain open, and a pilot will periodically fly over the China Lake area to look for any sign of Jackson.

Authorities and volunteers from snowmobile clubs had been looking non-stop since the Erskine Academy student was reported missing Saturday morning.

They even enlisted the help of New Hampshire wardens in using a remote camera.

Wardens say the decision to stop searching was discussed with Jackson’s family Thursday night.

Meanwhile, snowmobilers are being told to stay off of China Lake because of open water and thin ice.

CHINA, Maine — Searchers looking for a missing teenager Monday night found snowmobile tracks leading into the open waters of the west cove of China Lake, according to the Maine Warden Service.

Richard “Shaw” Jackson, 18, an Erskine Academy junior, has been missing since Friday night. More than a dozen wardens, other law enforcement officials and volunteers from the community and 13 area snowmobile clubs have been looking for him since Saturday morning.

“We’re not certain those are his tracks near the cove,” Col. Joel Wilkinson of the warden service said Tuesday in a press release. “But this is an area of concern and we are putting resources there, and we are continuing to search in other areas as well.”

Agency spokeswoman Deborah Turcotte stressed Tuesday evening that it is still a search for a missing person.

“We need to continue our search on the trails,” she said.

Wardens had not yet been able to get sonar gear to the site for an underwater search of the lake, which has deep water, Turcotte said.

Jackson last was seen between 8 and 9 p.m. Friday heading back to his home from Pinkham Fuel, where he had work done on his black Yamaha snowmobile, according to the press release.

Wardens searching Tuesday used airboats, snowmobiles and an airplane to look for Jackson before stopping for the night.

“Of course, the snowmobile clubs have been very generous,” Turcotte said. “People are just stepping up and helping out.”

Although wardens have interviewed family members as to Jackson’s whereabouts, there is still no indication of which way he might have gone, Turcotte said.

By Tuesday night, a group called “Help find Richard ‘Shaw’ Jackson” on the social networking Web site Facebook had more than 1,048 members.

Anyone who may have seen Jackson after 9 p.m. Friday is asked to call the Maine State Police in Augusta at 624-7076.

The Maine Warden Service is resuming its search today for a missing 18-year-old Erskine Academy student who disappeared in the South China area after driving his snowmobile away from a repair shop on New Year’s day.

Richard “Shaw” Jackson has not been seen since he left Pinkham Fuel Friday evening, where he had had work done on his black Yamaha snowmobile.  We was riding the sled home and was last seen between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. Friday.

Warden Service spokeswoman Deborah Turcotte says rescuers will resume searching trails and interviewing Jackson’s family members and friends.  She says if the weather cooperates, an air search for the missing sledder will also resume today.  Turcotte says the Warden Service is also planning to search China Lake by boat, in areas where the water remains open.

It’s not known whether Jackson planned to drive his sled home on trails, or across China Lake. Last night, the Maine Warden Service located snowmobile tracks that lead into the west cove of China Lake where the water is open, officials say, but there is no indication that the tracks were made by the snowmobile driven by the missing teen.

Volunteers from several snowmobile clubs are participating in the search for Jackson.