Body found in ocean identified as missing Long Beach man

ByABC7.com staff KABC logo
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
Zachary Briley, 23, is seen in an undated file photo from the Long Beach Police Department.
Zachary Briley, 23, is seen in an undated file photo from the Long Beach Police Department.
KABC-KABC

LONG BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- The search for a missing developmentally disabled man from Long Beach has come to a sad conclusion, with the identification this week of a body found off the Orange County coast in December.

Authorities had been searching for 23-year-old Zachary Briley since Dec. 19, when he was last seen leaving his residence in the 2200 block of Euclid Avenue in Long Beach.

His mother, Allison Briley, had said her son was developmentally disabled, but had been living independently in Long Beach since August, with twice-a-week visits from a social worker.

Long Beach detectives later learned that an unidentified male body held by the Orange County Coroner's Office matched Briley's description.

On Monday the Coroner confirmed the body's identification as the missing man.

Briley's body was recovered on Dec. 31 near a platform off oil island Esther, near the Seal Beach coast. Coroner's officials said he had been in the water for more than a week.

No evidence indicates foul play at this time.

Police are continuing to investigate Briley's death and ask anyone with information to call the Long Beach Police Department Mission Person Detail at (562)570-7246.