Update: Body found in ocean near Myrtle Beach, SC identified. Here is what we know.
Horry County Police are investigating the death of a person whose body was found in the ocean Tuesday afternoon.
The person was identified as Jon Wright, 36, of Columbia, who visited the Myrtle Beach area often, according to the Horry County Coroner’s Office.
Wright’s body washed ashore near the Nash Street beach access at the Springmaid Pier, the coroner’s release said. Police responded about 2:24 p.m., according to a police report.
Police were removing the body from the beach about 3:41 p.m. Tuesday. About seven police vehicles were on the scene.
A few people were watching near the Springmaid Pier.
John Michaels and Braden Michaels, who were fishing at the pier, said that they saw something floating in the water near the shoreline about 2 p.m. The men said it was a person in a black wet suit and they were face down in the sand.
It is unclear what caused Wright’s death. The coroner’s office said an autopsy would be conducted later this week.
According to a police report, officers responded to a call about a body in the surf near the pier. A woman called 911 after calling out several times to the victim, who at the time was floating with the tide, the report said.
The woman went out into the water and rolled the victim over and realized that he was already dead.
Rescue crews brought the victim out of the water because the tide was coming in, the report said. Several tattoos on the man’s body helped with identification, according to the report.
