A MISSING tourist has been found dead days after desperately trying to save his friend from a riptide during their vacation in Mexico.

Alejandro Gonzalez, 20, vanished while swimming in the ocean, his mom Renee said on social media. 

He had spent the Easter weekend in Cancun, Mexico, with his high school pals before vanishing.

The student was swept up in a current before being pulled further away in the water.

Alejandro’s disappearance sparked an urgent search, but Renee revealed on April 24 his body had been found.

“We held out hope, and prayed for a miracle,” she said.

“While the outcome wasn’t what we wanted, God did answer our prayers.”

Renee shared a picture of her son, an art student, just moments he ventured into the water. 

She paid tribute to her son, revealing that he put himself above others, as reported by the CBS affiliate WNEM-TV.