A body that washed ashore at Dockweiler StateBeach in Playa del Rey was identified
today as that of a swimmer who went missing last week off Manhattan Beach, authorities said.
The body was discovered about 12:35 p.m. Wednesday at Vista del Mar and
Grand Avenue, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
The dead man was identified as Derrick Jeffries, 24, of Hawthorne,
coroner’s Assistant Chief Ed Winter said. The death was being investigated as
an apparent accident, and an autopsy was pending, Winter said.
The former U.S. Army soldier swam into the surf off Manhattan Beach amid
heavy rip currents about 5 p.m. April 19 and failed to return. Friends at the
scene said they did not hear Jeffries call out and were unaware that he might
have been struggling in the water.
