For the second time in two months, a body has been recovered at the base of the steep cliffs in one of Southern California’s wealthiest coastal communities.
According to Fox News, on Oct. 30, officers from the Palos Verdes Estates Police Department responded to reports of a body spotted near the 1400 block of Paseo Del Mar.
Firefighters from the Los Angeles County Fire Department assisted in recovering the remains of an unidentified man from the rocky shoreline below. Police Chief Luke Hellinga said there were no signs of foul play.
A similar discovery occurred Aug. 30, when authorities were called to the same area after another body was found at the base of the cliffs.
Witnesses said the victim appeared to be male, though investigators have not confirmed the person’s identity. In both incidents, police reported no evidence of criminal activity.
The discoveries follow several others along the Palos Verdes coastline over the past two years. On Nov. 16, 2024, a passerby found a human skull and bones near Rat Beach during low tide.
The Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office later confirmed the remains were human.
Then, on Christmas Day 2024, officers responded again to the shoreline near the 800 block of Paseo Del Mar after a partial leg washed ashore. Additional remains were discovered the next day, and the coroner confirmed they were human.
In June 2025, police said several remains recovered since 2023 had been identified through DNA testing. Victims included:
Mark Paulson, 68, whose femur was linked to a 2021 boating disappearance off Redondo Beach.
Raymond Simeroth, 57, identified from a skull and bone recovered in November 2024.
Zhaoliang Tang, 62, a missing fisherman identified from partial remains.
Police said none of the deaths showed signs of foul play.
The cliffs, which overlook the Pacific, have long been considered hazardous. Between 2010 and 2015, officers responded to 31 cliffside incidents, including suicides, rescues, and injuries.
“It’s extremely dangerous; there’s no fencing in the area,” Fire Captain Wade Kelsey told FOX 11 Los Angeles.
“There’s sloping to where it just goes off to a sheer cliff, and the majority of the area here is very unstable, very dangerous if you get close to the edge of this cliff without any sort of protection.”
Despite repeated warnings, the cliffs remain largely unfenced and open to the public.
Police and the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office continue to investigate the most recent October case and are working to identify the man found near Paseo Del Mar.
