Crime & Safety

Updated: Recreational Sailors Discover Dead Body Floating Near Wharf

It appears the man accidentally drowned, authorities said.

Update 3 p.m. Friday:
The dead man found floating off the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf on Thursday evening was Brian Earl Taylor, a 27-year-old homeless man from Santa Cruz, Sheriff's Sgt. Patrick Dimick said Friday. 

It's believed Taylor had gone swimming and drowned, Dimick said. A sailboat crew found Taylor facedown in the water off the end of the wharf wearing only shorts. 

"There's no sign of foul play. It appears to be an accidental drowning," Dimick said, adding, "it's sad."

An autopsy is being performed. Dimick said it would be some time before the official cause of death would be known. 

Original story: 
A man's body was found near the Santa Cruz Wharf on Thursday evening, a Santa Cruz County sheriff's sergeant said.

The body, identified only as that a 27-year-old man, was found floating about an eighth-mile offshore around 6:50 p.m., sheriff's Sgt. Patrick Dimick said.

Two people sailing discovered the body near the municipal wharf and reported it to the Santa Cruz harbor patrol, which sent crews out to pull the body out of the water.

Foul play is not suspected in the man's death, Dimick said.

Sheriff's Sgt. Jacob Ainsworth told the Santa Cruz Sentinel the man's had been in the water less than five hours. 

Reporting contributed by Bay City News Service. Copyright © 2013 by Bay City News, Inc. – Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.


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