The lifeguard was on duty at Malibu Lagoon State Beach outside Los Angeles when he discovered a mysterious barrel out in the water. He swam away, brought it ashore and opened it up.
There he found a dead naked man in his 30s, detective Hugo Reynaga of the Los Angeles police tells The Guardian.
He is now leading the homicide investigation after the discovery.
BARREL: In this barrel lay the deceased man, believed to be in his 30s. Photo: Robyn Beck/AFP/NTB Show more
It is still unclear where the barrel came from, but it is possible that it came in with the tide.
– Around At 20.00 it is high tide here, and there is a possibility that the barrel may have come in from the sea and then got stuck in the lagoon – but we don’t know, says Reynaga.
The police reportedly know how the man died, but do not want to release that information until he has been identified and the next of kin have been notified.
The lifeguard was by no means the first to see the black barrel in the water. Because already on Sunday, a caretaker who worked on the beach must have seen the barrel and taken it ashore with the help of a kayak, writes LA Times.
However, he did not open it and left it on the beach. It must have been around 15:00 on Sunday.
SWIMMING BEACH: On the other side of the discovery site, you can see tourists bathing. Photo: Robyn Beck/AFP/NTB Show more
Later that evening, former Malibu mayor Jefferson Wagner says he saw the barrel when he drove past the beach.
– I thought it was a container with toxic waste when I saw it, says Wagner to La Times.
That there was instead a dead body inside the barrel shakes Wagner.
– This is not what happens in Malibu. This is not a common occurrence. I mean, corpses in a barrel is just sad,” Wagner said, adding that he was deeply upset.
2023-08-02 01:40:50
#Horrific #discovery #beach
