Floating 55-gallon drum with corpse inside noticed by Malibu Beach lifeguard

An investigation is ongoing after a 55-gallon plastic drum seen by a Malibu Lagoon State Beach lifeguard Monday turned out to include a lifeless man, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department introduced.

The lifeguard, unnamed by legislation enforcement, observed the barrel floating within the lagoon off Malibu Beach at 10:10 a.m. After he swam out and retrieved the barrel, he opened it as a consequence of its suspicious weight, discovering inside a unadorned, deceased grownup Black man. 

The physique had not undergone vital decomposition, legislation enforcement mentioned, and it’s thought the person inside died lately. Authorities additionally theorize that, given that top tide happens at 8 p.m. on the seashore, the barrel may have been washed in from farther afield within the open ocean.

The barrel was first noticed by a upkeep employee Sunday night time.

“They got in a kayak to get it and brought it to shore. Apparently it was too heavy and they didn’t want to open it, so they left it on shore,” LASD Lt. Hugo Reynaga mentioned at a information convention. 

Afterward, the barrel was washed again into the lagoon by the tides.

Earlier within the day Monday, the barrel had been seen north of the place the lifeguard noticed it by former Malibu Mayor Jefferson Wagner. 

Mr. Wagner has been the proprietor of the native Zuma Jay Surf Shop for many years and mentioned that is the primary time he can keep in mind this taking place in Malibu.

“I thought it was a toxic waste container when I saw it. This is not what happens in Malibu. … This is not a common occurrence. I mean, bodies in a barrel is just sad,” Mr. Wagner informed the Los Angeles Times, including that he was “deeply disturbed.”