Body of adult man discovered by resident on Surfside Beach

Seal Beach police responded Thursday evening to a section of shoreline near Surfside Colony, where the body of an adult male was discovered by a passerby after it had possibly washed up on shore.

Lt. Nick Nicholas said a call came in shortly before 6 p.m. from a resident who had been out on an evening walk near 89 B Row when the body was found on the beach.

“It looks like to us the body washed up from the water, although we can’t say that definitively until we finish our investigation,” Nicholas said Friday.

The decedent was at least partially clothed and was wearing pants when he was found, he added. The body did not appear to be in an advanced state of decomposition.

Police detectives responded to the scene, as did lifeguards with the Seal Beach Marine Safety division and members of the Orange County Fire Authority and investigators from the Orange County coroner’s office.

Sheriff’s department spokeswoman Carrie Braun confirmed Friday coroner’s officials had identified the man but were still waiting on notification of his next of kin before releasing his name to the public.

Nicholas said detectives were investigating the incident and would be contacting nearby jurisdictions, such as the city of Huntington Beach, to see whether a report of a missing swimmer had been made and would search for surveillance footage from the area.

Although it is unknown whether the man may have died from drowning, Nicholas said Friday it did not immediately appear that the decedent had sustained any visible wounds or injuries.

“From a very preliminary examination of the outside of the body, we didn’t see any obvious signs of trauma or anything that would indicate that, although that [determination] will be up to the coroner’s office.”

Anyone who may have information about the incident is asked to contact Seal Beach Police Detective Sgt. Chris Hendrix at (562) 799-4100, ext. 1112.

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