YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) — A body found Thursday morning on the East Side has been identified as a teenager missing since Nov. 21.

Police said Landon Lockhart, 14, is the person who was found about 8:45 a.m. in a wooded area in the first block of North Truesdale Avenue.

Police had asked for help finding Lockhart just after the first of the year, saying they had information he was in “danger,” although they did not specify what that danger might have been.

Police are investigating Lockhart’s death as a homicide, the first of 2022 in Youngstown. Last year, Youngstown had 30 homicides.

Lockhart’s body was found in an area that is not easily seen from the street. When asked Friday how police found him, Chief of Detectives Capt. Jason Simon said their investigation led them to that spot, but he would not be more specific.

Lockhart’s mother, Lajena Solomon, had filed a missing persons report Nov. 23, saying the last time she saw her son was about 11 p.m. Nov. 21, when he left their home in the 600 block of Parkwood Avenue without permission.

Solomon told police that she had exchanged several texts with her son, and he promised to come home, but he never did.

Police did not say how long Lockhart’s body may have been in the spot where he was found.

In a statement, Justin M. Jennings, chief executive officer of the Youngstown City School District, said counselors are available to help any students who knew Lockhart.

“We send our thoughts and prayers to Landon’s family and will help the family connect with community resources to provide additional support,” Jennings said. “Our counselors are ready to provide grief counseling to YCSD scholars and staff. Our hearts are heavy over another senseless loss of a young life.”