OAN’s Brooke Mallory
11:31 AM – Tuesday, August 1, 2023
On Monday, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department discovered a man’s body inside a 55-gallon barrel near Malibu Lagoon.
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According to police, the barrel was first spotted by a maintenance worker on Sunday night, floating near the Pacific Coast Highway. However, they were not able to open it.
“They got in a kayak to get it and brought it to shore,” said LASD Lt. Hugo Reynaga. “Apparently it was too heavy and they didn’t want to open it…”
Authorities then say that a lifeguard came to work on Monday morning and swam out to grab the floating barrel. He hauled it back to land, opened the lid, and then made the shocking discovery.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department was called at around 10:30 a.m. PST.
The black plastic barrel was reportedly seen standing upright in shallow water, and a section of the beach was shut down soon after by police for the investigation, according to Sky5 video.
There has been no immediate information reported regarding the victim’s identity, however, a homicide investigation is still ongoing.
Authorities suspected that the body was not in the barrel for a long period of time prior to the discovery.
Detectives also suspected that the barrel drifted into the lagoon from the ocean due to a high tide.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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