Jennifer Hanie, 31, disappeared in Manhattan Beach early Friday morning.
Her boyfriend had called the police at 6.40am after searching for him himself for two hours.
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A 31-year-old woman was found dead on a popular Los Angeles surf beach, less than four hours after her boyfriend reported her missing.
Jennifer Hanie’s body was discovered in the sands of Manhattan Beach, a few meters from the oldest pier on the West Coast.
Hanie became separated from her boyfriend and a group of people while walking on the beach in the early morning hours, Manhattan Beach police said in a statement.
Her boyfriend tried to find her for two hours before raising the alarm at 6.40am, prompting an intense search along the coast and in the water.
“The informant stated he last saw his girlfriend near the water line,” police said.
Police put up screens around a car after Hanie’s body was found Friday morning.
Los Angeles County lifeguards, the Manhattan Beach Fire Department and the U.S. Coast Guard joined police in the search before his body was discovered at 10:13 a.m.
Hanie became separated from her boyfriend and a group of people while walking on the beach in the early morning hours, Manhattan Beach police said in a statement.
“The informant and his friends searched for the woman and when they couldn’t find her, they called MBPD.”
The Strand and the beach bike path were closed between the Manhattan Beach Pier and 15th Street before a lifeguard stumbled upon Hanie’s body near the 2300 block of The Strand at 10:13 a.m.
It was unclear whether Hanie had been in the water and was washed ashore, and the Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office has not yet released the cause of death.
But his disappearance at the popular filming location coincided with the fallout from Wednesday’s full moon and a high tide at 9.04am on the morning of his death.
“When I got up in the morning I noticed some activity on the beach and didn’t really think about anything, and then I went to work and noticed there was more activity,” said Bob Beverley, owner of Shellback Tavern on the pier.
“They had found a body on the beach and it’s a very sad situation, and it appears to be a girl.”
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed Hanie’s identity but has not yet released the cause of death as investigations continue.
Beverley said Hanie was thought to be staying at a nearby holiday rental and had gone out for an early morning swim.
“Well, late January is not so common,” he added. “Usually it’s pretty calm here and the surf has been very strong.”
“Absolutely heartbreaking,” Brenda Bush-Campos wrote on the police Facebook page. ‘Prayers to family and friends.’
“I checked the tide charts and the tide was coming in bigger waves,” Stacy Mason added.
‘Did a rogue wave catch her? Did she commit suicide, did someone drown her?
“There have to be a lot of cameras out there and it will be resolved.” Police said the case remains an ongoing investigation.
“The woman was positively identified by officers through photographs, as well as by her family as the missing person,” a spokesperson added.