MINNESOTA ? Two brothers missing since November were found dead in the northern Minnesota town of Red Lake on Sunday, authorities said.

An FBI spokesman said the two boys, their bodies encased in ice, were found in a lake about a half-mile from their home by a volunteer search and rescue team.

Tristan Anthony White, 4, and Avery Lee Stately, 2, had been missing since Nov. 22. The two boys, both American Indian, disappeared while playing outside their home on the Red Lake Indian Reservation near the Canadian border.

“Today our worst fears were confirmed,” said FBI agent Ralph Boelter.

Authorities have not determined whether foul play was involved, Boelter said.

The lake was initially searched by divers five months ago, when hundreds of searchers scoured the area for the boys in the days that followed the disappearance.

The initial search was called off five days after the disappearance, and Boelter said rescuers resumed on Sunday in hopes the warmer weather would help.