Surfer drowns near Moonlight State Beach

The body of a surfer who apparently drowned was discovered Wednesday afternoon, Sept. 11, near Moonlight State Beach in Encinitas, authorities said.

The man’s body was discovered around 4:30 p.m. in the water off the shore a little south of the main lifeguard station, which is at the foot of C Street and Moonlight Lane, according to Encinitas lifeguard Capt. Larry Giles and San Diego sheriff’s Lt. Michelle Craig.

Encinitas lifeguards apparently spotted a surfboard floating in the water without its rider, prompting a search that turned up the man’s body a few hundred yards away, according to Anita Pupping, Encinitas’ fire marshal and a spokeswoman for the Fire Department.

The body appeared that it “had been there for awhile,” Pupping said. The victim was thought to be a man in his late 20s or early 30s.

Giles said he was meeting with personnel from the Medical Examiner’s Office a little before 6 p.m. Deputies from the Sheriff’s Department responded, but it appeared Encinitas lifeguards and the Medical Examiner’s Office were handling the investigation. No other details were immediately available at press time.

— Alex Riggins is a reporter for The San Diego Union-Tribune