Dennis RomeroThe body of a man found last week in the Dominguez Channel in Carson, not far from a popular Ikea store, was identified over the weekend as belonging to 23-year-old USC master's student Elgin Olu Stafford.
Reports indicated he interned last summer for area U.S. Rep. Karen Bass. He was studying public diplomacy at USC. He had been reported missing more than a week before the discovery.
L.A. County Coroner's assistance chief Ed Winter told the Weekly …
… that he's not allowed to say anything about the case because a security hold has been placed on information by sheriff's homicide detectives.
We reached out to a murder investigator but had yet to hear back.
So far, however, this is the case of a missing young man whose body was found: There's no indication of foul play.
Stafford's father told TV news crews that his son had been stressed out.
Sheriff's officials stated they were called out to the find, in the channel between Avalon Boulevard and 213th Street, on Thursday about 12:45 p.m.
Friends and admirers took to Twitter over the weekend to express condolences.
Several Twitter users said that Stafford was an Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity member at some point during his academic career.
On March 21 the L.A. County Sheriff's Department put out a missing bulletin for Stafford, stating that he was last seen leaving his nearby residence in the 20000 block of Campaign Drive at 5:30 a.m. on March 20.
While the flier said he had no mental or medical issues, it claimed he had been “exhibiting erratic behavior” recently.
Got info on his last known whereabouts? Call homicide detectives at 323-890-5500.
[With reporting from City News Service / @dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]
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