Unidentified Dead Man Found at Westward Beach

An unidentified white male in his 50s was found dead on Westward Beach early Monday afternoon. A cause of death has not been determined, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Coroner.

Sgt. Troy Ewing, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, told Malibu Patch on Tuesday that the Sheriff's Department is searching the U.S. Department of Justice's database of missing persons in an attempt to identify the man.

Toni Berget, who lives near the spot where the body was found, said her gardener saw the body floating in the water shortly before 1 p.m. and thought it was a dead seal. When he looked at the area again several minutes later, the body had reached the sand, Berget said. 

Berget went to the scene, which was being attended by Sheriff's officials, because she thought the dead man might be her neighbor. Berget determined it was not him after seeing the man's face. She described the man as a white male in his 50s with receding dark hair. He had a "good physique" with a muscled stomach and was wearing a black bathing suit.

Berget said the man's forehead was injured and had blood on it. There are rocks in the ocean in that area.

Anybody with information about the case should contact the Sheriff's Department's Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500.