- Jennifer Hanie, 31, disappeared from Manhattan Beach in the early hours of Friday while walking with her boyfriend
- The friend called the police at 6:40 am after searching for two hours
- LA County lifeguards, the Manhattan Beach Fire Department and the U.S. Coast Guard joined police in the hunt before her body was discovered at 10:13 a.m.
- No cause of death has yet been announced and the police investigation continues
A young woman was found dead at a popular surfing beach in LA on Friday, less than four hours after her boyfriend reported her missing.
Investigators are now trying to determine what killed 31-year-old Jennifer Hanie, whose body was discovered on the sands of Manhattan Beach, just yards from the West Coast’s oldest pier.
Hanie became separated from her boyfriend and a group of people while walking on the beach in the early hours, Manhattan Beach police said in a statement.
The boyfriend tried to find her for two hours before raising the alarm at 6:40 a.m., prompting an intensive search of the coast and water by police, the LA County Lifeguards, the Manhattan Beach Fire Department and the U.S. Coast Guard.
“The reporting party stated that he last saw his girlfriend at the water line,” police said.
Police placed fencing around a car after Hanie’s body was found Friday morning
LA County lifeguards, the Manhattan Beach Fire Department and the U.S. Coast Guard joined police in the hunt before her 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 hours, Manhattan Beach police said in a statement.
“The reporting party and his friends searched for the female and when they could not find her, they called MBPD.”
The Strand and the beach’s bike path were closed between the Manhattan Beach Pier and 15th Street before a lifeguard came across Hanie’s body near the 2300 block of The Strand at 10:13 a.m.
It was not clear whether Hanie had been in the water and washed up, and the LA County Medical Examiner’s office has not yet released a cause of death.
But her disappearance from the popular filming location coincided with the aftermath of Wednesday’s full moon and a high tide at 9.04am on the morning of her death.
“When I got up in the morning I noticed some activity on the beach and didn’t really think about it, and then I went to work and noticed there was more activity going on,” said Bob Beverley, owner of the 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 young girl.”
Beverley said Hanie was believed to be staying at a nearby holiday home and went swimming early in the morning.
“Well, it’s not that common in late January,” he added.
‘It’s usually quite calm here and the surf is very strong.’
“Absolutely heartbreaking,” Brenda Bush-Campos wrote on the police department’s Facebook page.
‘Prayers for the family and friend.’
“I checked the tide charts and the tide was coming in bigger waves,” Stacy Mason added.
The LA County Medical Examiner’s office has confirmed Hanie’s identity but has not yet released a cause of death as the investigation continues
“Did she get caught in a rogue wave? Did she commit suicide, did someone drown her?
“There must be a lot of cameras there and it will be sorted out.”
According to police, the case is still an ongoing investigation.
“The woman was positively identified as the missing person by officers and relatives through photographs,” a spokesperson added.