Surfers find body in ocean off San Clemente

Surfers off north San Clemente found a woman’s body floating in the water Wednesday morning, March 18, and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department is treating the death as “suspicious.”

The body was found at about 8 a.m. in an area called North Beach, near restrooms and an abandoned concession stand and next to a small playground with a swing set and slide on the sand.

A body was brought in from the water at North Beach in San Clemente and was investigated near this restroom and abandoned concession stand on Wednesday, March 18, 2020. The surfers called the authorities about the body, which was recovered from the ocean by OCSD, according to spokeswoman Jaimee Blashaw.

“At this time, the woman’s death is considered suspicious,” Blashaw wrote in an e-mail. “Homicide investigators will be attempting to identify the decedent and determine the circumstances surrounding her death.”

The woman appeared to be Caucasian and in her 40s, according to OCSD.

Dee Mavalvala and Herb Yengo watched the investigation unfold from their ocean-view window in the neighborhood above the crime scene. They reported seeing what looked like a large necklace with a medallion around the woman’s neck. The couple said the investigation took place about 10 feet from the water’s edge, a pile of rocks helping to hide the body and the investigation from the public’s view.

“They were down there a long time,” said Dee Mavalvala. “They had the whole area marked off with the tape. …  They put up a tent because it was raining. We did notice, they treated her very respectful, just from what we were seeing … we were impressed with how they handled it.”

Herb Yengo said he talked to surfers, who said the body was floating north. A friend said surfers helped bring the body to shore by putting her on a surfboard.

How long the woman had been deceased before the body was found probably won’t be known until after the autopsy, Blashaw noted.

“It’s shocking, but things can happen randomly anywhere,” said Dean Digiacomo, who with his wife, Christine, came to the beach Thursday for some fresh air. “It sounds like one of those ‘Dateline’ stories.”

Anyone with information can call OCSD Dispatch at 714-647-7000 or OC Crime Stoppers at 855-TIP-OCCS.