The decomposing body discovered at Polliwog Park in Manhattan Beach last Thursday has been identified as that of a 21-year-old Hispanic man from Long Beach, authorities told Easy Reader News on Tuesday.
Mario Herrera, who was last seen on July 5, was reported missing by family members the day before the discovery of his body, Los Angeles Sheriff Department Lt. Dave Coleman said.
Coleman said the coroner’s office conducted an autopsy Monday, yet the cause of death is still undetermined at this point.
From here on, the investigation will entail gathering as much as information as possible about Herrera’s whereabouts and activity in the days leading up to his death, Coleman said.
“We’re gonna obviously try to retrace his steps, find out where he was last seen, who he might have been with,” he said. “We’ll look at cell phone records, talk to family members, friends, relatives and anybody we can to find out where he was.”
Herrera’s body was found by the city’s public works employees last Thursday afternoon at Polliwog Park, wrapped in pink plastic material and concealed in a pile of fertilizer, according to police.
Last Friday, a special operations team from the coroner’s office sifted through the soccer field at Pacific Elementary in hopes of finding further evidence, but the six-hour dig netted no such discoveries.
