James Wernke, a 21-year old student at Santa Ana College who had recently earned a baseball scholarship to play for Long Beach State, was found dead today after he had been reported missing on Saturday.
Long Beach State issued a press release this afternoon.
“It’s never easy to deal with an enormous tragedy such as this,” head baseball coach Mike Weathers said, in the press release. “We obviously thought very highly of James and will miss the opportunity to have him be part of the Long Beach State baseball program. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this difficult time.”
The Associated Press reports that Wernke was found in a Fullerton creek, presumably after falling in as he was walking his girlfriend’s dog. The creek was unusually high after heavy rains.