A body recovered at Sunset Cliffs Thursday afternoon was identified by police as a man reported missing hours earlier.
A man was found dead and without clothes near Froude Street and Sunset Cliffs Boulevard at around 12:45 p.m., the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department said.
Medics were initially called to the scene to assist someone in the water but were later canceled, SDFD spokesperson Monica Muñoz said. The body was recovered an hour later, according to the San Diego Police Department.
Police then confirmed the body was that of a missing man.
"This morning, there was a missing person’s report filed for an older gentleman with dementia. It has been determined that the two cases, the missing person and the body recovered in the water, are related," SDPD Officer Robert Heims said.
A relative of the man who died told NBC 7 he did not have dementia as police reported.
Merrilee Neal, a resident who lives across the street recalls hearing a helicopter in the morning asking for help finding a missing man.
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"We are looking for a white elderly gentleman, about 75 [years of age]," Neal recalls hearing the helicopter say.
Neal said police later asked to see footage of her security cameras as it pointed out to the ocean.
"We were looking at my tape from 6 a.m. that looked straight out to the ocean but it was black, it was just dark and rainy," Neal said.
Neal later saw ambulances, firefighters and police arrive near the ocean.
Police have yet to identify the body due to the amount of time it was in the water. The Medical Examiner will release the identity of the person once the family is notified.
“It’s tragic to have a life lost in such a beautiful place, to have family know they’re relative and friend is not coming home," Neal said.
No other information was available.
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