YouTube star Desmond “Etika” Amofah has been found dead after he went missing six days ago.

The popular internet personality, 29, was last heard from on Wednesday when he posted a video in which he appeared to express suicidal thoughts.

Worried fans alerted the police in New York, who had been searching for him. On Tuesday they confirmed a body recovered from Manhattan’s East River was that of Etika.

A statement from the New York City Police Department said: “We regret to inform that Desmond Amofah aka Etika has been found deceased.”

Etika, a well-known video games vlogger with more than 130,000 subscribers on YouTube, sparked alarm among fans when he shared a video last week hinting that he was going to harm himself.

The video has since been taken down.

Following news of his death, fellow YouTubers paid tribute. Daniel Keem, better known as KeemStar, tweeted: “He was a great Entertainer. One of the best streamers in the game.

“He lost a channel of over 800k subs and made a new one and was right back pulling thousands of viewers. Wherever he’s laid to rest I’ll be there.”

Felix Kjellberg, known online as PewDiePie, wrote: “Hard to grasp that he’s actually gone, left us way too soon.

“You will continue to live on in our hearts. Rest in peace @Etika.”

Ali Kabbani, who uses the name Myth online, commented: “RIP Etika. To anyone out there struggling with an inner battle, my heart is with you and please get the right help or talk to those closest to you.”

And the official YouTube Creators Twitter account posted a message which said: “We mourn the loss of Etika, a beloved member of our gaming creator community. All of us at YouTube are sending condolences to his loved ones and fans.”

People can contact Samaritans by phone, free of charge, on 116123, via email at jo@samaritans.org or can visit www.samaritans.org to find details of their local branch.