A body that was discovered on Venice Beach in California early Wednesday morning has been identified as that of former WWE wrestler Shad Gaspard.
Gaspard had disappeared while swimming in the ocean on Sunday, according to KTLA 5. He had last been seen by a Los Angeles County lifeguard at around 3:40 p.m. swimming about 50 yards off the shore with his son.
Gaspard and his son got caught in a dangerous surf, and lifeguards went into the water and were able to rescue the child. They said they could not locate Gaspard after he was struck by a large wave and carried further out to sea. The Coast Guard searched for the 39-year-old for the remainder of the day on Sunday before calling off the search at dusk.
Crews searched again on Monday and Tuesday, but they were unable to locate Gaspard. His body was not found until early Wednesday morning by a citizen walking on the beach.
Gaspard became a well-known wrestler in the WWE when he and partner JTG formed the tag team “Cryme Tyme.” He retired from the WWE in 2010 and pursued an acting career, landing roles in Kevin Hart’s “Get Hard” as well as “Think Like a Man Too” and some other TV series and movies.
