Body found washed ashore south of Pismo Beach

Officials are investigating a decomposed body found washed ashore south of Pismo Beach on Monday afternoon.

About 1 p.m., sheriff’s deputies, State Parks rangers and Pismo Beach police officers responded to the stretch of beach about 1 mile south of the Pismo Pier, about halfway to the Grand Avenue beach entrance in Grover Beach.

Sheriff’s Office spokesman Tony Cipolla said Monday afternoon that the body was “fairly decomposed” and that a coroner’s unit took custody of the body.

Cipolla could only confirm that the body belonged to a man and could not give an age or how long the man is estimated to have been dead.

He said foul play wasn’t immediately suspected; an autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday.

Cipolla also could not confirm whether the man was Marco Antonio Reyes Jr., the 28-year-old Tulare County man who went missing after reportedly jumping off the Pismo Beach Pier in March. Witnesses told Pismo Beach police that Reyes was swimming normally after jumping off the pier about 9:40 p.m. but later was heard screaming for help before witnesses lost sight of him.

Police, Cal Fire, California State Parks, the U.S. Coast Guard and the California Highway Patrol searched the waters for Reyes until the following afternoon before suspending the search.

As of 3 p.m. Monday, officers and the coroner’s unit had processed the scene and left the beach. Cipolla said the investigation was ongoing and the Sheriff’s Office would release the man’s name once his family is notified.

This story was originally published April 25, 2016 at 3:48 PM with the headline "Body found washed ashore south of Pismo Beach."