Missing Man’s Body Washes Onto Shore

The clothed body of a missing 19-year-old man washed ashore early Tuesday, and police said they do not suspect foul play.

The body of Fadi Joseph Nourieh of Laguna Hills was discovered about 7 a.m. along the surf below Heisler Park, with his wallet and driver’s license still in the pocket of his trousers, Police Det. Jason Kravetz said.

An autopsy performed Tuesday concluded that Nourieh drowned and had been in the water for a few days, investigators said.

“There’s no sign of foul play,” Kravetz said.

A family member reported Nourieh missing Saturday after she couldn’t reach him at home, Kravetz said.

On Tuesday, a man and a woman in the 300 block of Cliff Drive saw the body and called 911.

Investigators said they do not know how Nourieh’s body ended up in the ocean and have found no one who saw him go in.

Nourieh was the second man reported missing from the Laguna Beach area this month. Police also are looking for a diver who disappeared during an underwater excursion near Cleo Street Beach last week, Kravetz said.

George Godwin, 45, of San Dimas was last seen in a popular diving spot called “the barge,” a sunken ship in waters about 200 yards offshore, authorities said.

A search party of about 20 people from the Laguna Beach lifeguards, Newport Beach police and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department searched unsuccessfully for Godwin.

“We had blanketed the area as best as possible, but the outcome just wasn’t what we had hoped for,” said Mark Klosterman, chief of marine safety for the Laguna Beach lifeguards.