ORMOND BEACH -- A man reported missing Wednesday evening while hanging out with a friend on the beach was discovered dead shortly after midnight Thursday, a Volusia County Sheriff's spokesman said.
An autopsy on Steven Price, 32, performed Thursday morning by the Volusia County Medical Examiner’s Office preliminarily indicated that he had drowned and that no foul play is suspected. Price was a transient who had been in Florida less than 24 hours. He and a friend had arrived in Orlando via Amtrak train and hitchhiked to Daytona Beach.
"At about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, Price’s friend left Price on the beach and went swimming by himself in the ocean in the area of the 400 block of North Atlantic Ave., Daytona Beach, near the Oakridge approach," Sheriff's spokesman Brandon Haught said. "When the friend returned, Price was gone, but his possessions were still on the beach. The friend contacted law enforcement and a search was conducted, which included a Volusia County Sheriff’s helicopter. However, Price was not found."
Price’s friend said that Price had drunk about five beers while on the beach, Haught said. A little after midnight a Volusia County Beach Patrol officer on routine patrol discovered Price’s body washed ashore in the area of the 700 block of South Atlantic Ave., Ormond Beach near the Milsap approach.