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# Man found dead on local beach identified
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/man-found-dead-on-local-beach-identified/
- Published: 2003-08-20T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T02:48:28.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Environment, Pier, #archive-import

*But authorities aren’t releasing name*

*By Daily Press staff*

The man found dead along the shoreline of Santa Monica Beach Monday has been identified, but authorities haven’t released his name pending notification of his family.

The man, believed to be Hispanic and in his late 40s or early 50s, was found by a passerby at about 5 a.m. lying face down in the sand just north of the Santa Monica Pier wearing socks, a T-shirt with a plaid shirt and blue shorts.

The Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office will conduct an autopsy today to determine the cause of death and whether foul play is suspected. Authorities said the man was found with a head injury, however Santa Monica Police, who is investigating the incident, haven’t confirmed that.

But Los Angeles County Lifeguard Capt. David Story and coroner spokesman David Campbell both said the man experienced trauma to his head.

“The purpose of the examination is to pinpoint what the trauma is,” Campbell said, adding there were no other visible injuries. “We just don’t know if it’s from post morteum or anti mortem.”

Story, who responded to the scene, said he didn’t want to speculate on what may have happened before the man died. However, it didn’t appear he had been swimming because he was clothed.

He may have fallen off of a boat and hit by a propellor. But the area north of the pier is not traveled heavily by watercraft, Story said. And the likelihood of the man falling off the pier is small because neither the current and or tide were strong enough to carry him hundreds of feet, he added.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 20, 2003.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/082003.pdf?ref=smdp.com)