HORRY COUNTY, SC (WBTW) – Investigators are looking into why a man’s body was found in the ocean at Myrtle Beach State Park.
It was not a quiet morning at the state park Monday.
“They had a big line of fire trucks and police and everybody down on the beach,” said Myrtle Beach resident Jim Biddle.
The Horry County Police Department says a man’s body was discovered in the surf on the beach just after 10 a.m. Emergency crews cleared part of the beach as they removed the body. Park rangers and lifeguards were also nearby as the investigation began.
Beachgoers at the state park Monday afternoon say they were shocked when they heard what happened.
“I’ve worked in the park when they’ve had shootings and stuff a few years ago and I’ve seen things, but I’ve never seen a body wash up like that,” said Biddle.
A Myrtle Beach Fire Rescue spokesperson says it’s unclear how long the body was in the water before someone spotted it. Police haven’t said if the investigation is criminal. The man’s identity also has not been released yet.
Biddle, who was fishing on the state park pier while the body was discovered, says it didn’t worry him after the initial surprise.
“It seems like there’s so much stuff going on in Myrtle Beach, it don’t bother you that much, with all the crime and everything happening in the city,” he said.
The county coroner’s office ordered an autopsy on the body for Tuesday to determine how the man died.
