Pope Francis meets parents of young man found dead in river

VATICAN CITY -- The Vatican says Pope Francis has met with the parents of a U.S. college student whose body was found in Rome's Tiber river this week.

A brief Holy See statement said Francis expressed to Beau Solomon's parents strong sentiments of "compassion and his closeness in prayer to the Lord for the young man who died so tragically." The pope held the unscheduled meeting at the Vatican early Wednesday morning.

Solomon was last seen early Friday at a pub popular with U.S. students in Trastevere, just hours after arriving in Rome.

The ANSA news agency said preliminary autopsy results indicated that Solomon had suffered injuries consistent with a fall. Police have detained a homeless man in connection with the investigation.