SAN DIEGO (CNS) - An unidentified dead man was found drifting in the ocean off the coast of Mission Beach Wednesday, authorities reported.
The body was floating about 2 1/2 miles from shore when a fisherman on a boat spotted it shortly before 10:30 a.m., according to police.
City lifeguards and harbor-police personnel retrieved the corpse and brought it to their main dock on Quivira Court on Mission Bay. Homicide detectives were dispatched to investigate the fatality "out of an abundance of caution," San Diego Police Lt. Anthony Dupree said.
The body, dressed only in surfer-style shorts, bore no obvious signs of traumatic injuries. A potentially suspicious factor in the case, however, was a chain wrapped around the dead man's waist, though it might have been used simply as a belt or clothing accessory, the lieutenant said.
The deceased appeared to have been roughly 30 to 40 years old at the time of his death, according to Dupree.
The county Medical Examiner's Office was called in to take custody of the body for identification and autopsy purposes.
San Diego police investigate after a body was found in the water off Mission Bay Channel Wednesday morning. (Oct. 10, 2018)