Body found near Costa Mesa apartment complex

A passerby found one person dead outside of an apartment building in Costa Mesa Monday afternoon, police said.

A resident reported finding the body at a complex near Hamilton and Thurin streets at 12:44 p.m., Costa Mesa Police Lt. Stephanie Selinske said. Investigators did not immediately find evidence of foul play.

The man was identified by coroner’s officials as David Ryan Hall, 30, of Fountain Valley, Orange County Sheriff’s Sgt. Scott Steinle said. Investigators had not verified his cause of death as of Tuesday afternoon.

A resident of the Costa Mirage apartments who declined to have his name published for privacy reasons said his neighbor was the one who discovered the body. The person who died was lying on the grass in a narrow space between an outdoor patio and a utility room.

“We thought he had just passed out at first,” the resident said. “Later I heard the officer downstairs nudging the person and asking ‘are you awake,’ but they didn’t say anything. Paramedics came and were here for about five minutes before they blocked the area off with yellow tape.”

A resident of the Costa Mirage apartments in Costa Mesa found a person dead in a narrow space between the rear patio of a unit and one of the complex’s utility rooms on Monday, Nov. 14. There were no immediate signs of foul play.

(Eric Licas)

Police conducted a brief investigation before the body was taken by coroner’s officials, who were working to notify the person’s loved ones Monday evening, Orange County Sheriff’s Sgt. Scott Steinle said. The area was reopened by 3 p.m., residents said.

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