Body Found in Surf May Be That of UCI Student

An unidentified female body was discovered along the shoreline Tuesday afternoon, and investigators were working through the night to determine if it is that of a missing UC Irvine student whose car was discovered at a beach several miles north.

An autopsy was planned today to determine the identity and cause of death. Because the body was decomposed, police could not say if it might be that of honors student Melissa Li, 22, who has been missing since Jan. 27.

“They were able to determine it is a female, and that is about all at this point,” Newport Beach Police Lt. Mike Jackson said. He added that the cause of death was not immediately apparent.

A local resident spotted the body at 4:56 p.m. in the surf near 47th Street. The site is several miles south of Sunset Beach, where Li’s car was found, and less than a mile south of the mouth of the Santa Ana River.

Li’s parents, who share a Fountain Valley home with their daughter, had said they heard stirrings in their daughter’s room about 2 a.m. on Jan. 27, and assumed she was up late studying. The next morning, they discovered that she and her car were gone, although her purse and possessions were left behind.

After a day of worrying, Li’s parents searched her favorite beach areas and found her car about five miles from home, police said. The light blue 1991 Toyota Corolla was illegally parked in a cul-de-sac near Warner Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway, police said.

University records show Li as a triple major pursuing studies in English, linguistics and social science.