Body Identified as Missing Ventura Man

A badly decomposed body that washed up on the beach at Ventura Harbor was identified Friday as that of Richard Adams Jr., a 23-year-old Ventura parking attendant who disappeared two weeks ago.

The cause of death has not been determined, Ventura County Deputy Coroner Mitch Breese said. Ventura police, who are also investigating the case, declined to release any details Friday.

“He was a nice, quiet person,” said Cindy Ford, Adams’ cousin. “He had a good heart.”

Adams’ body was found Thursday less than two miles south of the Pierpont Beach area where he was last seen walking his dog near his residence on Norwich Lane. He was last seen chatting with a man near a stairway that leads to the beach.

“His dog may have run off on the jetty, and he went after it,” said his mother, Carolyn Adams. “He loved that dog.”

Richard Adams knew how to swim, a family friend said.

The dog walked trembling into the Doubletree Hotel 30 minutes later without his owner, Adams’ sister, Tammy Adams, said in an interview last week.

Adams’ family had distributed flyers, purchased newspaper ads and offered a $1,000 award for information leading to his return.

After the coroner’s office used dental records to confirm Adams’ identity Friday, Carolyn Adams reminisced as she began making arrangements for the burial of her only son.

When he was 16, he was involved in a bad car accident that left him in a coma for several months, she said. “He had to learn to walk and talk all over again.” The accident, however, did not affect his mental capabilities, his mother said.

He was born and raised in San Joaquin County and moved to Ventura about three years ago.

Since July, 1990, he had worked full time as a parking attendant at Executive Parking, a city-owned lot next to the Holiday Inn.

His manager, Todd Fessenden, described him as “the perfect employee--you couldn’t find a better worker.”

Adams rented a room above his mother’s garage and was saving his money to buy a farm or go into business for himself, Carolyn Adams said. “He had a lot of dreams,” she said.

In his spare time, he played with his dog and enjoyed all sorts of games--”pool, checkers, you name it,” his mother said. He was also devoted to his truck, a 1965 black Ford pickup.

Adams also loved to tell stories, Carolyn Adams said, and was the family clown, notorious for his too-accurate impersonations. “He used to say, ‘Mom, I don’t lie, I embellish,’ ” she said.

He is survived by his father, Richard Adams; his mother, Carolyn Adams, and his sister, Tammy Adams.

A memorial service is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday at Grant Park at the large cross. He will be buried in Stockon.