Man’s Body Washes Ashore on Catalina

The usually placid island town of Avalon, shuttered for the cold, lonely winter season and bereft of the usual throngs of tourists to Santa Catalina Island, received an unexpected visitor of another kind this week when a lifeless body--pale, cold and bloated--washed up on its shore.

Four beachcombers strolling along deserted Descanso Beach, a favored spot in fair weather for family outings and company picnics, discovered the dead man in the rocky surf about 11 a.m. Wednesday.

“They thought they saw a seal or a porpoise, and when they went to get it they saw it was a body,” said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Lt. Pat Soll.

Officials say the 40ish man had a bump on his head, but no bullet wounds or other overt signs of trauma. They said the bump could have been caused by washing against the rocks that jut out from the shoreline. Sheriff’s officials estimated that the body had been in the water only four to six hours.

The man was fully clothed in jacket and jeans--but carried no identification.

“We have no idea, and no ID,” said Sgt. Elaine Minnis.

Authorities say they have no reason to suspect foul play at this point, but the case is being investigated by sheriff’s homicide detectives. The body was taken to the county coroner’s office Thursday for an autopsy.

A harbor patrol boat scoured the shoreline for wreckage or an empty sailboat, but found no trace of any. Avalon harbor officials said they have not had a report of a missing vessel since August.

Coroner’s investigators will try to ascertain the man’s identity from fingerprints, and sheriff’s investigators may turn to missing persons reports to determine whether the body fits any descriptions. But residents of the quaint town of weekend inns and crystal waters were fairly sure he wasn’t a local.

“It could’ve been as simple as, someone falls off a boat, knocks their head and drowns,” said Mayor Ralph Morrow Jr.

Authorities said dozens of boats are moored along the coast outside the harbor’s boundaries, and the town does not require them to register at the marina.

“We don’t have this kind of thing happen very often,” said Soll. “But when it does, it’s the talk of the town.”