The Coroner’s Office today confirmed the name of the 21-year-old inexperience swimmer who went into the water at Redondo Beach and drowned.
The swimmer was identified as Lawndale resident Marlon Patrick Fajardo Jr., said Coroner’s Lt. Fred Corral.
Fajardo, who went in the ocean at 3:30 a.m. Sunday, was swept under by relatively-tame waves and drowned.
The swimmer was reported missing at 3:45 a.m. Saturday, said a Redondo Beach police sergeant. Fajardo’s body was recovered before 11 a.m. Saturday.
“It’s not a happy ending, but at least it’s still good to know they found him,” Fajardo’s grandmother, Louise Bernadez told The Times. “I believe that he was gone. How long can you survive? Just a sharp minute.’
Lifeguards were not sure why the man and his two of his friends were in the water, under a full moon, when he went missing.
“We usually we don’t recommend swimming in the dark,” Lifeguard Capt. Christine Linkletter said at a midmorning news conference. The beach was not getting large waves Saturday, as that strand is protected by the Palos Verdes Peninsula from hurricane swells arriving from the southeast.
