Body Found Off Santa Cruz Coast

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, CA – A body was found off the Santa Cruz coast Monday afternoon, but it's not clear whether it's that of a 24-year-old man missing for nearly 10 days, police said.

The body was found along West Cliff Drive and placed in custody of the Santa Cruz County coroner's office, which will identify the person, police spokeswoman Joyce Blaschke said.

The discovery comes a little over a week after 24-year-old Dang Haus of Utah was last seen jumping off a cliff near Lighthouse Point State Beach on Aug. 20, police and fire officials said.

Haus has been classified as a missing person. There were no signs of foul play or plans to harm himself, police said.

Crews had responded to a rescue at 3 p.m. on Aug. 20 in an area of the water near the beach known as the "toilet bowl" for its turbulent behavior, fire Battalion Chief Josh Coleman said.

Witnesses told authorities a man jumped from the cliff, landed in the water and screamed for help, according to Coleman.

Firefighters searched for the man with assistance from the U.S. Coast Guard for about six hours, but were unable to find him, Coleman said.

Patrol staff at the beach continued to search for Haus the following day but found no signs of him, according to Coleman.

Anyone who witnessed the jump or has information on Haus' whereabouts is asked to call police at (831) 420-5820.

Also see: $10K Reward Offered In Shooting Deaths Of Sea Otters Along Coast

--Bay City News/File photo